Unconditionally
by Karkalicious769
Summary: Kankri and Karkat move away from their home town to get a fresh start. In their new town, Karkat befriends Sollux Captor, his neighbor. But just as friendship turns into something more, the past comes back bigger and badder than before and suddenly, the future Karkat was hoping for, romantic or otherwise, seems impossible. TW: Implied Rape, Blood, Weapons, and Child Abuse
1. In Which Friends Are Made

**A/N: So, first of all, I want to apologize for my lack of activity lately. I spent spring break up in the mountains with my family and no internet *shudders* but now I am back. I have also worked out a sort of schedule for updates that I probably won't stick to. Basically, I will just update stuff, like chapters or new stories on weekends unless it's a holiday or April 13th, which is on Monday this year!  
So anyway, this is a SolKat (and minor CroKri) fic based around the story-line from my DaveJohn fic (- self-advertisement) except it's Karkat's P.O.V. and based more around him and his love life then the amazingness that is PepsiCola, so you don't have to read the other one to understand this.  
Sorry if Kitkat is OOC, but his personality is based upon the life he lived during this story, not in Alternia. **

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**Kankri's P.O.V.**

"So, tell me again, simply because I enjoy listening to the nauseating sound of your voice that much. Are we fucking there yet?" Karkat asked impatiently from the back seat for about the tenth time in the last hour. Honestly, Kankri had quit trying to count after he reached seventeen, instead trying to focus on the road and the classical violin music he was listening to through one ear on his iPod.  
"Karkat, first, please do not curse, it is very triggering to me. Second, no, we have not yet reached our destination," Kankri sighed wearily, yet again impressing all of us with his patience and Karkat handling skills, "however, when we do arrive, I will inform you immediately to avoid any potential triggers."  
Karkat rolled his eyes, going back to moodily staring out the window as he had been doing ever since they had packed up and left, which was what had prompted this road-trip in the first place.  
Sighing again, quieter this time, Kankri adjusted his mirror so as to see both Karkat and the road stretching out endlessly behind them. He smiled fondly at his little brother's reflection in the mirror before focusing once again on driving. So far, it had been pretty empty, save the occasional delivery truck or traveling family, and Kankri was grateful. It allowed him to zone out just a little and focus on his triggering thoughts.  
He knew that moving in the beginning of the school year wasn't fun for Karkat, as shitty as his life had been, he had still had a few friends that Kankri wished he hadn't had to separate him from, Rose, Jade, and Tavros if his memory was correct. The move had been hard on him too, though not as impacting, seeing as how Kankri had graduated college early, just a year ago actually, at age twenty-two, top of his class.  
He had gone home to see how things had been holding up without him around, and was shocked and appalled at what he found, but, due to the most certain triggers, refused to think about any further. And it didn't really matter now anyway. All of that was far behind them. Needless to say, Kankri had forced his brother to pack post-haste before shoving him into his van and driving away. The whole thing took less than a day, but it just shows to go what one can do when their motivated properly and your dad is passed out drunk on the couch.  
But for now, Kankri was getting annoyed with narrating (as triggering as that sounds), and effectively shut the audience out, forcing them to go to (*ironic shudder*) Karkat in order to continue the story.

**Karkat's P.O.V.**

Karkat was, in a word, annoyed. He hated any unnecessary complications in his already overly complicated life, and on the long list of things that he considered unnecessary and complicated, moving was definitely ranked in the top five. Sure, his life hadn't exactly been the best among other things, and sure, a fresh start and a new house would be great, but still. Karkat had fallen into sync with life back in Loa, some no-where town in Utah, and he didn't like the idea of moving somewhere unfamiliar. In fact, Kankri hadn't even told him where they were going, just that he had plenty of friends there that would help them start fresh.  
He swore he didn't tell any of them why they suddenly picked up and moved, so Karkat should expect questioning from some of the more curious and pushy ones.  
Just perfect.  
Kankri had also revealed, ironically one of the only things he would discuss about their new town, that all of his old college buddies had younger siblings who all went to the same high school, so there was plenty of opportunities to make new friends.  
Hooray.  
"Karkat?" Kankri said suddenly from the front seat, roughly jarring Karkat from his thoughts, "I'm sorry if the suddenness of my voice is triggering to your person, but you requested that I inform you when we arrive at our new town, Maple Valley it is called by the way, and we have just passed over into the town's boundaries."  
"Fascinating." Karkat mumbled with an eye roll before going back to the window to get a good idea of his town's layout. A week ago, he probably would have launched into a huge rant filled with creative cuss words about how much he didn't give a shit, but Karkat just couldn't find it in himself to care enough to do so. It was strange behavior for him, as evidence by the worried glances Kankri kept throwing him through the mirror that he pretended not to notice, but it was just how he behaved now. Ever since Kankri showed up at home just in time to witness what was probably the most awful thing to happen to Karkat since his mother packed up and left her two children with a man who was so obviously not cut out to be a dad, he had been practically silent.  
Realizing that he had been dwelling on painful thoughts, Karkat forcibly tuned back to real life just in time to see the car shoot past a high school, followed by a park, until they reached the downtown area. It was full of apartment buildings and skyscrapers and office buildings. They passed a hospital and Karkat thought he saw a blonde kid his own age exiting the building, but that couldn't have been true because it was 2: 54 on a Tuesday. Unless it was break or something, all the kids should have been in school, at least for another few minutes. But, deciding he didn't care, Karkat pushed the memory of the blonde, shade-wearing douchebag from his mind. It's not like he would ever see the guy again.  
"Alright, Karkat, we're here." Kankri announced as he turned left into a culdesac, though Karkat didn't have enough time to read what the welcoming sign said, "This is where I managed to find and purchase a house suitable for our needs as a two person family."  
Karkat rolled his eyes, "That's great Kan, but which one is ours? They're all exactly the same." He said, voice dripping with sarcasm.  
Kankri, either not getting the sarcasm or deciding not to mention it in order to avoid any unnecessary triggers, pulled into a drive way. "This one is ours, 21505 South-East 267th Street, remember that." He said before unbuckling and getting out. Following suit, Karkat grabbed his little bag of personal objects and stood up straight, yawning as his back popped. They had been cramped in the car for hours. Behind him, Kankri was stretching to, but he kept shooting glances at the road when he thought Karkat wasn't looking.  
"Waiting for something?" he asked with a slightly amused tone. Kankri jumped slightly, not knowing that Karkat had noticed, causing his little brother to smirk slightly. Even though it was at his own expense, Kankri was obviously very happy to see any trace of joy on Karkat's face so he turned towards the littlest Vantas, keeping an eye on the road while he answered.  
"Just one of my friends." He explained, picking at one of the fraying cuffs on his already worn red sweater, "He said he would be here to help us unpack. He has a reputation for being late, which I have warned him is a very triggering thing to do, but still…" he sighed, "he should have been here by now."  
Karkat's smirk dropped at the expression on his brother's face. Whatever the conversation, he suddenly had the feeling that the sudden topic about tardiness had nothing to do with the move.  
Before Karkat had the chance to either a) shut up from embarrassment, or b) try and fail to comfort his brother, there was a loud screech that only came from a sharp turn and a large, bright purple truck pulled up alongside the curb. There was a pause, then the door on the driver's side opened and a man stepped out. He had thick, black hair that was gelled back in a way that strongly reminded Karkat of the movie Grease. The man wore a plain white t-shirt that hugged his upper body nicely and he wore tight fitting black skinny jeans tucked into a pair of black, high-heeled biker boots. It was, overall, a good look on him, no one else could have pulled it off, that's for sure.  
"Cronus, so you made it I see." Kankri said, projecting an aura of calm around himself that Karkat could see right through. Obviously, his brother was nervous and flustered, judging by the lack of his normal, lengthy greeting and the slight pink coating his cheeks. Clearly, something had gone down between these two while Kankri was of at college. It was actually pretty awkward, or at least to Karkat. Cronus seemed to be completely relaxed, without a care in the world as he sauntered up the driveway.  
"Still as short as evwer, Chief." He said, and Karkat was struck with how stupid his accent was, it was almost as bad as that stupid stuttering asshole he used to hang around. Kankri however, appeared to have a much different opinion on Cronus' voice as his blush darkened and he subconsciously shrunk into his already over-sized sweater, "Porrim is pretty mad wvith you not invwiting her," he continued, as if nothing unusual or flirtatious was happening, "so you might wvant to lay lowv for a wvile. You could evwen stay at my place if you wvant." Cronus finished and he winked. He. Fucking. Winked!  
A vein in Karkat's forehead ticked. He couldn't care less if these two idiots loved each other but flirting in front of him was crossing the line!  
"Alright, you two assmunchers," he said, pointing at Kankri and then Cronus, who had managed to wrap his arms around his brothers waist, despite his huge 'No Touch' policy, "I seriously cannot find the will power anywhere within myself to give a single fuck about your clearly romantic relationship. However," he didn't even stop to take a breath as Kankri went bright red but did not protest, "You do not, under any circumstance, flirt that fucking badly in front of my poor, already traumatized eyes! Am I fucking clear?"  
There was a long pause where Kankri and Cronus just stared at him, both of them looking quite shocked and mildly offended, though Cronus also looked slightly amused, which only made the shorty madder.  
"Now Karkat," Kankri began as he stepped away from Cronus, "I know Cronus was being very triggering and that he should have checked his privileges but that does not mean that you must behave that way as well. In fact, I find it even more offensive coming from you and I strongly suggest that-"  
"KANKRI!" Karkat shouted, quickly reaching the end of his rope when it came to his brother's monologues. "I find your voice very... triggering and I would appreciate it if you could tone it down with the talking." He requested, making sure his request sounded polite and thoughtful, even though he really had to force it.  
Kankri opened his mouth, possibly to go on a rant about how triggering that request was, but nothing came out. He closed his mouth only to reopen it again, repeating this process several times and looking a lot like a dying fish. Finally, he turned to Cronus and whispered something in his ear that Karkat couldn't hear before turning and sprinting into the new house without a word.  
As soon as he was gone, Cronus burst out laughing, "I can't believwe that actually wvorks!" He cried, placing one hand on the hood of Kankri's car for support, "You are a genius."  
Karkat rolled his eyes, "Yes, I know, I am well known in several states as the smartest man this side of the Mississippi. Now that were done with the pleasantries and pointless flattery, I need to get all the useless shit we brought and cram it through the front door. You can help or leave. Frankly, I don't care, as long as someone gets these boxes onto the house, then it doesn't really matter, now does it?"  
Cronus just smirked at him, going around the back of the car to grab some boxes from the trunk, "Wvowv, you really do curse a lot, don't ya? Porrim is going to lovwe you."  
Karkat ignored him, already struggling with the boxes that had been inside the van with him, "Is that so? Well damn, now my life is complete, I can die happy."  
Cronus laughed but didn't respond, placing a box at the threshold of the house, "Kanny, come on, vwe havwe boxes to organize!" He shouted into the house. There was a muffled response followed by what sounded a lot like footsteps pounding down a set of wooden stairs, but Karkat was too busy struggling under the weight of his own box to care or really notice.  
"Need thome help with that?" came a voice to his left. In his panic, Karkat dropped the box he was carrying as he turned, causing it to land on the foot of whoever had been talking to him. Luckily, the box only had clothes in it, but that clearly wouldn't be enough to sooth whoever had startled him.  
"Ouch…" the guy moaned, trying not to let it show how much having a box dropped on him hurt, though he had sunk to the ground and was now cradling his poor injured foot.  
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Karkat apologized, kneeling down to be eye-level with the stranger, "You just surprised me, and I dropped it."  
Tearing his eyes away from the guy's sneaker, Karkat felt his jaw slack slightly at the sight of the guy. He looked to be about Karkat's age, though he was clearly much taller, by a little less than a head. He had blonde, honey colored hair with random pieces sticking out that went nicely with his pale skin, and Karkat couldn't help but wonder if it felt as soft as it looked. He was also wearing a pair of high-tech looking 3D glasses with black framing, making it hard to distinguish any specific eye color. He was, to Karkat at least, gorgeous (as cheesy as it sounds).  
"Are you okay?" Karkat asked, offering the guy his hand and shaking his head slightly to clear his already rom-com clogged mind from going back to fantasizing any of those… *cough* thoughts…  
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine, it jutht caught me off guard ith all." He said, reaching up and gratefully taking Karkat's hand as he moved into a standing position.  
"What were you even doing over here?" It was a question, but the way Karkat asked it made it seem more like a demand then anything.  
"Wow, you thure are friendly," the douche laughed, causing Karkat to growl lowly, "But if you have to know, I live next door at number 21405, the yellow houthe by the way, and I heard thomeone yelling over here and came outhide to invethtigate."  
Karkat nodded, "So you're my neighbor then, huh?" He asked. The guy nodded and Karkat scoffed, "Great, then you should have no problem telling me your name."  
"Well, thince you inthitht," The guy, who had been leaning on the shorty for support, stood up straight and held his hand out, "I'm Thollux Captor, your neighbor. I live with my mom, dad, and brother; and before you athk, no, I cannot control the lithp."  
Smiling but absolutely refusing to laugh, Karkat shook his hand, "I'm Karkat Vantas. I just moved in with my older brother; and before you ask, yes, my whole family is this short."  
Laughing, Sollux dropped his hand and swung an arm around Karkat's shoulder, pulling him close, "Tho, what, did your parentth run away with the thorty circuth or thomething?" He joked, still grinning.  
Karkat's expression darkened and fell and, despite how much he enjoyed the other's honey scent, he pulled away, "I'd rather not talk about my parents actually." He muttered, looking away so his bangs obscured his face, which, deteriorated by the topic of conversation, was flushed bright red from the previous contact.  
Sollux frowned, placing a comforting hand on his neighbor's shoulder, "It'th fine, you don't have to tell me," He said soothingly, "I'm actually a very patient perthon."  
Karkat smiled slightly, looking up at the face of his new friend and nodding hesitantly, "I'm sure I'll end up telling you someday."  
Sollux grinned back in return and Karkat noticed that he had two abnormally large teeth on either side of his mouth. That's probably why he lisps, Karkat reasoned. But before he could dwell on this discovery further, someone laughed. It wasn't either of them, it was much too deep and humorous which meant it could only be...  
Karkat turned around and groaned, "Cronus."  
Said purple-blood **(whatever that is, *wonk*)** was leaning against the door frame next to Kankri, who was still blushing and refusing to make eye-contact with anyone.  
Cronus laughed, "So, I see you'vwe met the littlest Captor, huh?" he teased, placing and electric cigarette between his lips and turning it on.  
"I'm not little, athhole." Sollux protested, trying to sound threatening, but failing because of his irritating (and totally not adorable) lisp.  
"Language." Kankri warned, but making no move to indicate any further lecturing.  
"Are you under six foot?" Cronus taunted, ignoring Kankri's attempts to interject by wrapping his left arm around his waist, which effectively caused the older Vantas to shut up and go back to hiding in his sweater, which looked absolutely white next to his blush.  
"Well," Sollux stuttered, not wanting to admit Cronus was right, "yeth, I am, but-"  
"Then your short." The Greaser finished, looking as smug as ever, "but in your defense, you are taller than Karkat."  
"Oh no, you are not fucking bringing me into this petty argument!" The shorty interjected, taking a threatening step towards Cronus, though the only thing it did was make the older boy laugh. He was still keeping Kankri practically glued to his side, which did not go unnoticed by the younger boys as they shared a knowing look.  
"Anyway," Sollux intervened, sensing (correctly) that things were about to get awkward and fast, "I have to go home, I kinda left without telling anyone, tho my mom will be mad." He turned to Karkat, "Thee you KK. I athume you go to WV high thchool, like every other kid in thith town, tho I will thee you there in a few dayth." Turning around, Sollux high tailed it to the house next door without looking back.  
Karkat rolled eyes at his friend's behavior and turned back to the house, hoping to get the rest of the boxes into the house before dinner, at froze on the spot, feeling his face light up like a Christmas tree. Either he missed something or Cronus was just that good, but clearly, something was happening here.  
Kankri, who had lectured Karkat about "privileges" and "tagging triggers" since he was old enough to walk, currently had his arms wrapped around Cronus' neck as they stood flushed against each other, Kankri on the very tips of his toes and Cronus bending over slightly, not allowing a single millimeter of space between their conjoined lips, which seemed to be quite busy kissing the other from the looks of things. Good god, he had turned away for five seconds!  
Holding back a totally manly fangirl squeal, which would no doubt ruin the moment, Karkat tore his eyes away from the hot and getting hotter scene, wandering around the perimeter of the house before finding an open window and climbing inside, something he had gotten really good at over the years, simply out of necessity. He pushed the thought away determinedly and looked around the house, trying to get a feel for the new place before opening one of the few boxes they had managed to bring in and unpacking it, already thinking about ways to tease his brother if he ever untangled himself from Cronus. Judging by the muffled moans and groans and whispered curses from coming from the still-open door, however, it could take a while.  
Grinning for the first time in what felt like years, Karkat opened the nearest box.

**Sollux's P.O.V.**

Trying to be as silent as possible so as not to alert his mother, who, based on the singing that could be heard faintly through the open kitchen window, was still cooking dinner. It usually took her a few hours to start and finish dinner, usually around six, so Sollux allowed himself to relax slightly as he jumped up onto the outside ledge of the bathroom window, which he always left unlocked for his necessity, easing it open slowly as it tended to squeak. Quickly giving one last check to the front yard to make sure no one was watching, he slid into the room, landing lightly on the balls of his feet. Pausing to make sure no one heard, he shuffled over to the toilet and flushed it before moving to the sink and washing his hands. This way, no one had any proof that he had ever left the bathroom, it was completely foolproof.  
Feeling pretty good about himself, Sollux turned the sink off and dried his hands thoroughly before opening the door and stepping into the hallway, where he was immediately bombarded with the delicious smell of his mother's cooking. She was a sweet women, you'll never meet anyone nicer, but she traveled a lot, it was part of her job. Because of this, Sollux made sure to spend as much time with her as he could when she was home without being considered a mama's boy, as well as savor her cooking, as his dad sure as hell couldn't cook. He could barely even make toast!  
Thinking about dinner and practically salivating at the mouth, Sollux made his way towards the kitchen, only to be stopped in his quest for sweet savory goodness by Mituna, who was staying temporarily with his family while the apartment he shared with Latula, his oh-so-perfect girlfriend, was being remodeled.  
"Tho, where have you been, Thollux?" He teased, his lisp even more pronounced then Sollux's.  
Physically forcing himself to keep eye contact with Mituna, the younger Captor stood up straighter, "I don't know what you're talking about." he bluffed, hoping that his brother couldn't tell he was lying.  
Smirking smugly, Mituna pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Sollux, who unlocked it (shut up, there are no secrets between them) and was met with a chat section that Mituna had been having with Cronus on the updated version of Trollian, though neither him nor any of his friends really wanted to update.

– CRONUS began trolling MITUNA at 3: 23 pm -  
CRONUS: so, guess wvho showved up wvhile I wvas helping Kan movwe in?  
MITUNA: W45 17 P0RR1M?  
CRONUS: nope, try again  
MITUNA: HMM... W45 17 KURL0Z?  
CRONUS: i'm starting to think that this wvill go faster if i just tell you myself  
MITUNA: Y0U'R3 PR0848LY R1GH7.  
CRONUS: it wvas Sollux  
CRONUS: appears he's been sneaking out again  
MITUNA: H0LD 7H47 7H0UGH7, H3 JU5T W3N7 70 7H3 B4THR00M 34RL13R!  
MITUNA: 1'M G0NN4 C47CH H1M 7H1S 71M3!  
CRONUS: yeah, havwe fun wvith that  
CRONUS: I gotta go, Kan keeps bugging me to help him  
MITUNA: 4LR1GH7, G00D LUCK W17H H1M BY 7H3 W4Y, 8Y3!  
– MITUNA ceased trolling CRONUS at 3: 27 pm –

Forcing a smile and laughing awkwardly slightly, Sollux clicked the power button and handed the phone back to his brother, who was still smirking evilly.  
"Tho, uh, what are you going to do now?" he asked, wringing his hands out nervously in front of him. Mituna's smug look dropped and he stood up straighter, seeming to actually be thinking about this.  
He shrugged, "Nothing." Before Sollux could ask him what he meant by that, Mituna continued, "I don't see anything seriously wrong with what you did and, no offense, but I don't really care."  
Sollux smiled, "Tho, you're not telling mom and dad?" he asked hopefully.  
Mituna nodded, "No, I won't, jutht don't be late for dinner, okay?"  
Grinning, Sollux turned around, walking to his room. He gave his brother a small wave and a smirk, "Thankth, thee you at dinner 'Tuna." He walked into his room, not noticing that Mituna had pulled out his phone and was already frantically betting with his friends in a full group chat about how long it would take for the two dorks to get together.

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**Also, one final thing. I'm currently addicted to Black Butler and all its possible pairings (meaning Sebastian x Ciel), and I really want to do a fluffy but realistic fanfic about it but I don't thing I can. I already have a list of more then forty stories I'm planning but I probably will end up just rewriting the manga with some canon shit thrown in simply because I can.  
Anyway, I will post the next chapter if I get 3 follows and/or favorites! If I get 5, I will also put some digital cookies in the next chapter for people to snack on while they read, as well as digital cookie _jars_ for those of you (*cough* ThyRoyalAwesomeness *cough*) who don't eat cookies but enjoy snacking on cookie jars.**


	2. In Which The Past Is Revealed

**A/N: Sorry this took over a month, people. I sent this to my proof-reader and she can normally do this in a day, but for some reason, she took her time, over a month actually. So, I finally said, "fuck it", and did it myself, so that might be why it's not as good a quality. I dunno, you, the reader, decide that, not me.  
Also, I still love Black Butler (especially Sebastian x Ciel...) *blushes* Because of that, it took a bit of determination to finish writing this, so I'm sorry if it's a bad chapter.  
Wow, if haven't updated in over a month. I really need organization in my life.**

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**Karkat's P.O.V., Three Days Later, 6: 45 am**

When they had moved, Karkat had decided to "accidentally" leave his alarm clock back home. Kankri had been less than pleased when he found out yesterday, but compromised with Karkat's outright refusal to buy a new one. Instead, he announced that he would now be Karkat's personal alarm and swore to wake him up at seven o'clock on the dot every morning. He had responded to his brother with a weak, "I don't care," before marching upstairs and falling into bed, only pausing long enough to strip down to his boxers. At the time, he had not cared much about what Kankri had been saying, it all sounded the same to him, but now he realized what a mistake he had made by going through with the compromise.  
"... and if you fall into the habit of not getting up at such a young age," Kankri was saying as he turned back into the real world, "you will continue to do so throughout your entire life, and it could prove to be very triggering to your friends and future co-workers and boss if you continually appear late. It would be an incredibly unpleasant reputation to have, and it is not one I want you to experience having. As your brother and current guardian, it is my job to teach you helpful lessons, traits, and habits that will no doubt help you later in life. Furthermore, I find that your current behavior is..."  
Karkat tuned out again, his face scrunched up furiously and his eyebrow twitching rapidly in annoyance. His past self had been so wrong. This was much, much, _much_ worse than having an alarm clock. Finally, once he couldn't stand it any longer, Karkat removed the pillow from his head and chucked it with surprising brutality at Kankri's face, successfully shutting him up, mostly due to surprise, and Karkat took the opportunity to leave the room, quickly locking himself in the bathroom to prepare for his first day of school.  
He heard Kankri sigh and walk downstairs and he turned the water in the shower as hot as it would go and checked to make sure he had looked the door before removing the last piece of clothing covering his modesty. Even though the boxer briefs had been light and sheer and felt as if nothing was there at all, he felt completely vulnerable without them. Standing there, looking at his too-skinny and too-scarred reflection in the mirror, Karkat felt the memories surge towards him unexpectedly and he barely stopped himself from throwing up all over the clean, white-tiled floor that Kankri had been so happy to see when first purchasing a house.  
He could remember everything that had happened during his last night with his dad, every last detail. The horrid smell of alcohol on his dad's already rotten breath from lack of oral hygiene as it tickled his ear, the man whispering dirty, unwanted things into his ear, the fingers digging into his thighs that still hurt, courtesy of the nasty blue and black bruises, and worst of all, the awful, tearing sensation that brought tears to his eyes and cries for mercy into the open air as his dad-  
This time, Karkat really did throw up, but only because he needed something to distract himself from the memories of that terrible night, which he had somehow managed to remember with perfect clarity, despite the tears that had filled his eyes and blinded him.  
He raised his head from the rim of the toilet bowl, blurry eyed and weary, and flushed the contents of his stomach, which was just plain acid, as he hadn't eaten last night, thankful now for the noise of the roaring shower, without which Kankri defiantly would have heard him gagging.  
Remembering that he did have to shower, lest Kankri be suspicious from dry hair, Karkat shakily stood up from his position kneeling in front of the toilet and slowly got into the shower. The water pounding into him was ice cold by then, but he barely noticed, mechanically soaping and rinsing his hair, merely out of habit then anything else. But when Karkat began washing his body, he stopped, studying the white and pink colored scars running up and down his arms, stomach, and thighs. They weren't self-inflicted, not a single one of them had been made by his own hand. He had refused to give his dad, the bastard, the pleasure of seeing wounds on "his boy" that hadn't been made by the man's own hand and trusty knife. They were, apparently, "tokens" of "appreciation", every single one from his dad and his... friends... who were all extreme sadists. It was a miracle that he hadn't bleed out on the living room floor or gotten a severe infection from all the kindness they showed him after one of their several "sessions".  
Finishing up his shower, Karkat turned the water off, his skin now numb from how cold it had been. He sighed once at his reflection in the mirror before turning and exiting the bathroom.  
**(I apologize for going so dark, so fast)**

**Still Karkat's P.O.V., A Few Minutes Later**

A few minutes later and Karkat wished that he had just stayed in the bathroom.  
Apparently, Cronus had somehow shown up when Karkat wasn't paying attention and was now sitting at their new polished wood kitchen table (with matching chairs of course), a plate of forgotten pancakes in front of him that were probably cold by then, and a certain, older, white-haired **(their both albinos, but Karkat dyes his hair while Kankri doesn't) **Vantas on his lap. Once again, Karkat was overcome with horror, disgust and "the feels" all at once. After all, it's not every day that one comes downstairs to see their (admittedly) hot but "so-strict-it-was-a-turn-off" older brother making out _on_ the kitchen table with a guy he had only reunited with a few days ago.  
To paint the picture better, here was how it looked when Karkat, dressed and hair freshly dyed but still dripping with moisture, walked downstairs. At first, Karkat had been pretty hungry, after all, throwing up doesn't help get nutrients to your brain, but for _some reason_, he was no longer hungry at all. His sudden lack of appetite might have had something to do with the scene before him, but that's really just a guess. After all, there was nothing usual in the least about seeing Kankri, wearing the same red sweater and black jeans as always, with his slim legs wrapped around Cronus' waist and threading his fingers through his slicked back hair as they made out. The worst part was that Cronus wasn't wearing a shirt. All that douche wore was a pair of loose solid purple boxer briefs, which really did nothing at all to disguise just how much Kankri's expert hip movements and slight thrusts were affecting him. And so, he responded by standing up, not daring to break the kiss, and pinning Kankri to the table top, though by the way Kankri moaned and responded, rather graphically actually, it was clear he didn't mind the change of position at all.  
Jesus Christ, he had never known that Kankri even had a side like this! So much for being asexual! That lying dick.  
Face bright red but still being as quiet as possible (even though, honestly, it looked like not even a nuclear blast would separate those two), Karkat snuck into the kitchen and grabbed two pieces of freshly made toast, his backpack, which he had wisely packed the night before, and donned his favorite pullover hoodie, the black one with the gray Cancer symbol on it, before bolting out the front door, closing it slowly so as to not disturb the sex that was clearly taking place on the brand new kitchen table.  
Calming down now that he was outside, Karkat sighed once at his brother's behavior before rolling his eyes and walking in the direction of the school. He had taken the opportunity yesterday to find out how far away the school was from his house and it turns out it wasn't that far. Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes if he walked, which he had already informed Kankri he would be doing, so no worries. He should get there with plenty of time to spare.  
Today was his first day of school. Why Kankri had forced him to go on a Friday instead of a Monday, as was logically the correct decision, was beyond Karkat. When he had asked, he earned himself an hour long lecture on the "importance of education" which, for obvious reasons, shall not be repeated. But basically, he had gathered enough in between ignoring his brother to understand that he really just wanted to be alone with Cronus for as long as he could, among other things that he really didn't care about.  
By the time he finally reached the school building, Karkat had officially run out of pointless thoughts to entertain himself with. Except one, but thoughts of Sollux were never to be acknowledged except in his room where no one could see. Or maybe in the back of the classroom where he can successfully ignore the teacher.  
At any rate, he had arrived a bit later then intended and as a result, the school parking lot was almost completely empty. Well, except the one idiot who was sitting in his car, staring straight ahead with his eyes glazed over, clearly lost in thought. He could always ignore this guy, but then again...  
Knocking hard on the window as close as possible to the boy's head, Karkat scowled at him once he regained awareness. He didn't even know the guy's name, and already he hated him. The guy opened his car door and stepped out, locking it behind him.  
He was wearing a Ghost Busters shirt and regular blue jeans and was also about a full head taller than Karkat and just slightly taller than Sollux by barely an inch, which wasn't saying much, considering how short he was. Rolling his eyes at relentless thoughts of his annoying and defiantly not cute neighbor, Karkat stuck his hand out towards the stranger and he shook it automatically.  
"I'm John Egbert." the guy introduced, smiling hesitantly at him, and instantly his distaste for John grew. No one should be smiling as early as this, no matter how vaguely.  
"Karkat Vantas." he replied dryly, dropping John's hand, "And anyway, it doesn't matter," he continued, an ever-present scowl on his face, "I'm just curious as to why you were sitting in your car staring out the window like a fucking idiot when there's less than ten minutes until the bell rings."  
John laughed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously and Karkat fought back the urge to roll his eyes. "Well, you see, it's really a funny story..." he began and Karkat raised an eyebrow, his patience already non-existent thanks to Kankri.  
"Yes, I'm sure it is," he cut in, not wanting to hear more people talk, "but unfortunately, I don't care. I just figured I should get you lazy ass into school. It's my good deed of the day."  
John laughed again, not noticing the sarcasm, causing Karkat's eyebrow to twitch. God, that sound was going to get old fast, "Well, thanks then, Karkat." He said, patting the shorty's head affectionately, much to the annoyance of said shorty.  
"Yeah, whatever," Karkat said sharply, slapping John's hand away, though the taller boy's smile didn't drop in the slightest. Again, way too early for _anyone_ to be this cheerful.  
Rolling his eyes again out of both habit and annoyance, he grabbed John's wrist and pulled him towards the school. Well, tried to, neither of them would have gone anywhere if John hadn't been willing to be dragged by someone so tiny.  
"So Karkat," John began, catching the Cancer's attention, "are you new or something? I haven't seen you around before."  
Karkat snorted and let go of John's wrist, as they had made it inside the building and there was no need to give anyone at school blackmail material on his first day. "No duh, Sherlock." He said sarcastically, looking at John out of the corner of his eye. Karkat gave a weary sigh. "I just moved here a few days ago with my older brother." He explained. John just grinned down at him.  
"Cool. So then, what classes do you have?" he asked. Figuring that resistance was futile, Karkat muttered some unpleasant words under his breath before turning to dig around in his backpack. After a few minutes, he turned and shoved a crumbled piece of paper into John's hands, who in turn glanced over it quickly, smiling the whole time.  
"Looks like we'll be seeing each other around," He said, handing the paper back to a still scowling Karkat, who groaned in response.  
"Fan-fucking-tastic." He muttered with clearly faked enthusiasm.  
"Yeah," John continued, pretending not to have heard Karkat, which just angered him all the more. "We have all our classes together except for science and math, which are flipped." He received no response from the shorty, as, for some reason, Karkat was glad that he had befriended John so easily and without any effort on his part. It was weird, and it caused him to think long and hard about what had just happened.  
Karkat shoved the schedule into his pocket and swung his backpack into place on his shoulder, not making a move to leave.  
John laughed at his behavior. "I'll see you later," he promised, "also, the math class is down that way, pretty close to your locker, actually." John pointed down the hall on the left before turning right, towards his own locker apparently, waving at Karkat, who was smiling very faintly. The little twitch in the corner of his mouth was annoying, but for some reason, he couldn't help it. He was smiling.

**Sollux's P.O.V., Five Minutes Later**

Sollux suppressed a growl and glanced at the clock hanging above the teacher's vacant desk. It was only seven o' clock and already he wanted to stab someone. This was a new record, especially considering the people he called "friends". Even with both of his ear buds jammed into his ears and the music on full blast he could still here them crystal clear, which was surprising considering that there was only five of them, including himself, in the room. Then again, Gamzee, Vriska, Eridan, and Feferi in the same room together wasn't a good idea in any situation...  
Finally, just as Sollux was about to explode, and not in a good way, a lone savior appeared at the entrance to the math room...  
And by savior he meant Karkat. Never in his life had Sollux been so happy to see another person, nothing came close to the joy he felt in that moment. Not wasting a second, he ripped the ear buds out of his iPod, which for some reason shuts the device down, and slung them around his neck before running up to Karkat and huddling behind him like a terrified child.  
"Sollux, what the fuck are you doing?" he asked, half-annoyed and half-surprised, twisting around to look at his lisping friend.  
"KK, quiet," he peaked over Karkat's shoulder at his "friends" (really, he just tolerated them), who had stopped arguing and were now staring at him weirdly, "we have to ethcape now, while we thtill can. Quick! Before they can get uth both!" he practically shouted, half-kidding and half-serious. Unfortunately, it was too late anyway.  
"Wwell Sol," Eridan announced rather loudly in his stupid accent as he strutted over to them. Not even kidding, he _strutted_. "Wwho's your short little friend?" Not even five minutes and that prick was already flirting. He had, literally, no shame what-so-ever.  
Luckily, it appeared that Karkat either knew what he was doing or hated him right of the bat, based of his grimace. Most people usually went through that when the met Eridan, though most people, like Sollux himself, favored the second reaction.  
"Um, I'm Karkat." he said, though it came out as more of a question then an answer, "And wow, you are way too similar to Cronus..." Karkat muttered, still looking uncomfortable as he backed into Sollux's chest, the latter of which had just stood up straight, figuring that Karkat was too tiny to hide him properly anyway.  
Eridan looked down at the newcomer, blinked twice out of surprise, and stood up straighter, sniffing like some sort of upset nobleman, "I am nothing like my obnoxious brother!" he announced, not making eye-contact with anyone, probably because anyone who would have defended him was giggling in the corner (looking at you Fef).  
Karkat snorted and smirked slightly at him, "Are you kidding, you're practically twins," he laughed, though the sound was empty and hollow, not real and it made Sollux feel uncomfortable, "the only difference between you two is your separate obsessions and who you're fucking at the moment!" Realizing what he said, Karkat slapped a hand over his mouth. It was clear based on the neon red shade of his face that he hadn't meant for that piece of information to slip out.  
Eridan raised an eyebrow at him, "Wwhat do you mean? Cronus isn't seeing anybody. Unless..." he took a good long look at Karkat and it was clear when he finally understood. His smirk grew into an all-out grin and he leaned back, letting out a long, impossibly loud laugh. When Eridan calmed down, he looked at Karkat again as he wiped a tear from his eye, "You mean him and Kankri are...?" he burst into another fit of giggles.  
Karkat failed to see the humor in what was currently taking place on his kitchen table. "What's so funny?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level.  
Because Eridan was too busy laughing to answer, it was then that Vriska stepped up to share. Honestly, Sollux had forgotten that she was there. She wrapped an arm around Karkat's shoulder as if they were best friends and leaned against him slightly before answering.  
"Well, you see shorty," she began, the sound of her voice already making Sollux's blood boil, "Cronus and Kankri broke up, rather dramatically I might add, almost a year ago and they've barely spoken to each other since." She laughed shrilly, examining her nails as if she didn't give two shits about the conversation, "So, it's hard to believe that, not even a week since Kankri moved here, those two are back together."  
Karkat looked up at her curiously, "Really? I never would have guessed." he said, giving Vriska his undivided attention. The Vantas family takes relationships very seriously, especially possible ships.  
Vriska nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, I had a running bet with Nepeta about how long it would take them to get back together," she smirked, "She bet more than a year and I bet less than a year! I win!" she pumped both her fists into the air and ran to the door, "I'm going to find Nepeta!" she called over her shoulder and then she was gone.  
Looking completely lost, Karkat wandered over to Sollux, "So who the hell was she?" he asked, and it Sollux a moment to remember that the Cancer (completely based of the hoodie he was wearing) hadn't met anyone in the room, which was weird because Sollux felt as if he had known this guy for years.  
"Oh, that wath Vrithka." he said, tilting his head towards the door, "The's a major bitch, tho try and avoid her." Karkat smiled and Sollux felt his face heat up and his heart beat faster at the sight of it. Trying his best to ignore his body's strange reactions, he continued with the introductions, "The one over there thtill laughing ith Eridan." It took all of his mental will-power not to facepalm, "The girl in the pink ith Feferi." he leaned in closer to Karkat, "Eridan hath a cruth on her, tho I'd thtay away if I wath you."  
Karkat rolled his eyes, "Don't need to tell me twice." he said.  
"Did you all up and forget about me, Solbro?" someone asked from behind them. Karkat jumped what seemed like five feet straight into the air while Sollux, unfazed, turned towards the tall and lanky figure behind them.  
"I was jutht getting to you, GZ." he said, grabbing Karkat and pulling him closer after he tried to make a quick escape through the window.  
Sollux opted not to ask Karkat why he thought that was a good idea.  
"KK, this is Gamzee." he said, pushing the boy towards the impossibly tall juggalo. With the two next to each other, Karkat seemed even tinier than usual. Then again, everyone did next to Gamzee, who was well over six feet.  
"Uh, hi, I'm Karkat." Karkat said, sticking his hand out for Gamzee to shake.  
With a grin, Gamzee ignored his hand and bent down, wrapping the small boy in one of his signature greeting hugs. The expression on Karkat's face was so priceless, that Sollux bent over and began laughing so hard that even Eridan stopped to stare at him as he couldn't stay standing and he fell to the ground, shaking with the force of his laughter.  
"That wasn't funny!" Karkat shouted once Gamzee finally released him, his face flushed red with anger and embarrassment, which only made Sollux laugh harder, which pissed Karkat off even more, which made Sollux laugh harder, which - okay, you get the picture. Anyway, they carried on like that for a while until the bell signaling the start of first period finally rang.  
With a start, Sollux stopped laughing and pulled himself shakily to his feet, leaning on a still fuming Karkat for support as he giggled.  
"Well, we thould probably find thomewhere to thit," he said, wiping tears from his eyes, "You know, before all the good thpots are taken." Karkat nodded, all of his anger suddenly gone, as Sollux lead him to a secluded corner on the back, "I uthually thit here. The teacher never noticeth uth and you can pretty much do whatever all period." Karkat smiled slightly as he took his seat, though Sollux noticed that the expression of joy didn't quite reach his eyes.

**Karkat's P.O.V., After School Is Over, Three Weeks Later**

Stifling a sigh of relief as the bell rang, Karkat stood from his seat, stretching his arms high above his head until he felt his back give a satisfactory pop. Needless to say, because of Karkat's high standards, he was left stretching in the classroom long after everyone had left the room and the yelling in the hallways had dimmed until you could make out each individual voice. Suddenly panicking about what time it was, Karkat quickly grabbed his stuff and ran out the door, only to narrowly miss bumping into someone.  
"Wow, you thure are in a hurry, KK." Sollux said, using the hand that wasn't gripping his backpack to help Karkat steady himself.  
"Yeah, I just want to get home before Kankri starts to worry. When he worries, I get an hour long rant if I'm lucky." he explained, already walking towards his locker as Sollux trailed along behind him.  
Sollux laughed, "Your brother can be annoying," he agreed, "but I thtill think that it'th thweet that he careth about you tho much." he said, much to the embarrassment of Karkat, who blushed.  
_"If only he knew the real reason why Kankri is so protective…"_ he thought.  
"Well, when you put it like that, I suppose he isn't so bad." Karkat agreed with a genuinely fond smile. "Still, he needs an off button. Preferably a big, bright red one on a remote control."  
Sollux laughed, and they walked the rest of the way to Karkat's locker in silence, but he really didn't mind. It was a comfortable sort of silence, the really rare kind where no one is sad or angry or happy, they're just... there. He knew it sounded stupid, yet it seemed to be the best possible description for the atmosphere surrounding them.  
"Tho, you wanna come over to my place and hang out?" Sollux asked, finally breaking the silence as they exited the building, a ten-pound bag stuffed with homework swung over each of their shoulders.  
Karkat thought long and hard before he rolled his eyes and gave in, "Fine, but only because Kankri is probably still having sex with Cronus against the fridge again." he explained, approaching Sollux's bright yellow and black stripped Ford Fusion. Although he wasn't technically supposed to be driving just yet, his mom and dad had both agreed that he was responsible enough to drive and it would make school transportation easier.  
"Are they theriously thtill going at it?" Sollux joked. Kankri and Cronus's relationship, or "CroKri" as they called it, had become a sort of running joke amongst their group, but for Karkat it was all too real.  
However, he played along anyway for the sake of maintaining friendships. "I am always serious. Those two haven't been apart for more than five minutes at the most, and only for trips to the bathroom, not including showers. Yes, they actually do that together too." he snorted and held his hand up, displaying his empty ring finger to Sollux, "Honestly, if I don't see a ring on Kankri's finger soon, then I am having a serious discussion with Cronus about his fucked up priorities."  
Sollux laughed and pulled out of the school's parking lot. He turned on the radio, keeping the sound low for conversations but loud enough to enjoy the background noise anyway, "You know, Latula, along with Porrim and Meenah, bet that they would end up married." He laughed again, "The otherth don't agree."  
Karkat did a double take, "Wait, you mean people actually _bet_ on this shit? Without me? I am the shipping_ master_!" he protested.  
Sollux nodded and accelerated, going at least ten miles over the speed limit by this point. "They were just really bored and needed a new conversation thtarter and/or inside joke. Ath for why you weren't told," he glanced at Karkat as he passed yet another car, "Probably becauthe Kankri ith your brother. I mean, he would find out tho much thooner that way." he shrugged sympathetically as he slowed down only slightly and turned into _Prospit_. "Anyway, we're here, tho thith ith your latht chance to turn back." Sollux pulled into the driveway and turned off the car, "We both know that a majority of your time will be thpent at the table while my mom thoves food down your throat."  
Karkat faked an expression of horror and got out of the car, taking extra care to slam the door shut behind him, just because it pisses Sollux off, "Yes, it's so awful, being forced to eat all that insanely wonderful food your mom makes that just so happens to be my favorite meal." he said, climbing the few concrete stairs that lead to Sollux's front door. He stepped out of the way, giving Sollux room to unlock the bright yellow door with his personal key.  
***completely random switch to Sollux's P.O.V.***

"Mom! I'm home!" he called out as he entered the foyer, immediately slipping out of his shoes and setting his backpack down on the table. Karkat followed him in and did the same before trailing into the living room while Sollux went in the general direction of the kitchen. "Mom?" he tried again. He looked around the empty and still smelling of food kitchen and saw a sticky-note attached to the counter. It was short, sweet, and to the point:

_Honey,  
I've gone to the store to get supplies for tonight's dinner. It's a surprise, but if you brought Karkat home, then tell him to stay hungry! Honestly, he is much too skinny.  
_ _Anyway, I should be home within an hour of you, so no rave parties while I'm gone!  
Love, mom_

Smiling fondly, Sollux threw the note away and made his way back to the living room, only to find that Karkat had collapsed on his couch. It wasn't serious, just a little thing that they like to do to each other occasionally. Sollux would flop onto Karkat's couch, and then he would do the same back. It was a never-ending circle of pointless, as Karkat called it. Laughing, Sollux shook his head at his friends behavior and made his way over to the couch, flopping on in such a way that he landed right on top of Karkat without actually hurting him.  
With a deadly glare that lacked any actual anger, the shorty twisted his body and was now lying on his back, successfully pinned to the couch because of Sollux's shenanigans.  
"Get off of me, fucker." Karkat growled, but as always, his eyes betrayed his angry facade, showing that he was actually enjoying whatever it was they were doing.  
"Nope." Sollux said with a smug grin, stretching out his lanky body, careful to avoid putting too much pressure on the small boy, but just enough that it pissed him off and caused minor suffocation.  
"Sollux, get off!" he shouted, sounding more serious now and yet still not angry. It took him a second to figure out what was wrong with Karkat, but the answer was so obvious that Sollux was immediately ashamed that he hadn't seen it sooner, especially with how obvious the blush was.  
Karkat was embarrassed.  
With a sly grin, he leaned in towards Karkat until he was sure that there would now be a permanent imprint in his couch from the amount of force that the boy was using to keep his and Sollux's body's apart.  
"Why are you tho fluthtered, KK?" he asked finally, half-kidding and half-serious.  
This of course, only made Karkat blush harder, though at least he had stopped squirming.  
"I–I can't really explain it." he stuttered, eyes darting anywhere and everywhere. "But, I could s–show you." he said, turning even brighter as he spoke, as if such a thing was actually possible.  
Seriously, forget _"50 Shades of Grey"_, someone should write _"50 Shades of Karkat"_. **(hint hint aspiring writers) **  
"What do you mean?" Sollux asked, confused yet flustered at the same time, which probably had something to do with the questionable position he and Karkat were in.  
God, if his mom walked in, they were both so screwed.  
"Just..." he took a deep breath to steady his resolve, "close your eyes and don't hate me, okay?" he asked, suddenly completely serious, a startling contrast to his embarrassed behavior from only moments before.  
"Uh..." Sollux looked down at his friend, took in the intensity and seriousness in his gaze, the determination in his set jaw, but he took the most notice in how, as much as Karkat tried to hide it, his face was flushed, and he wouldn't make eye contact for long. And yet, for some reason, Sollux trusted him completely. After barely a month, he had become closer to this tiny boy then he ever had with any of his other friends. His confused and hesitant expression hardened. Sollux took a deep breath and nodded once at Karkat, who's controlled gaze melted with relief, before closing his eyes.  
There was a long pause in which neither of them moved.  
In fact, Sollux was ready to open his eyes and back out of this awkward situation, when he felt Karkat shift under him. He waited, listening as the small movements caused the leather material of the couch to crinkle, before he felt Karkat place a single hand on his cheek. Suddenly, Sollux felt nervous. The blood rushed to his cheeks and he was uncomfortably hot, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but there, pining his best friend to the couch.  
_Whatever KK is doing, he had better do it fast_, Sollux thought.  
Then, as if reading his mind, Karkat did just that.  
He leaned in and kissed Sollux.  
There was a pause, in which Sollux was still, enjoying the feeling of Karkat's cherry flavored lips against his own, their bodies pressed together tightly. It was better then he had even imagined.  
And then he smiled and kissed back.

* * *

**I dunno, deal with this minor "cliff-hanger", if you can even call it that (hence my use of air quotes). I'll continue with this in chapter three, which I have already started working on. Maybe I should make sure the story is completely finished before I start updating it...  
Nope, too lazy.**


	3. In Which The Fluff Is Poorly Done

**Hallelujah!  
Wow, I can't believe I actually spelled that correctly...  
*ignores the people pointing at the spell-check button*  
I'm awesome! Anyway, here is chapter three, updated in less then a month! That must be a personal record or something...  
Speaking of updates, I probably won't do another one for a while. Not only am I lazy, but I also have two finals in school to not study for. But when I do update, I swear that you will not be disappointed!  
In all honesty, this part right here is only something I wrote quickly to reach 5,000 words. _That's _how great I am.**

* * *

**Karkat's P.O.V., Several Hours Later**

Blushing from head to toe, Karkat stealthily unlocked the front door and slipped into the quiet house. All the lights were off, so it was hard to make sure that the foyer was completely Kankri-free. Despite that minor but expected set back, Karkat was a man out past his curfew, so he didn't have a lot of time to waste looking over his shoulder for his obnoxious older brother.  
The lecture was unavoidable anyway.  
He slipped out of his clunky tennis shoes and tiptoed towards the closet, easing it open slowly to avoid any unwanted noise that would most definitely alert his brother. Curse Kankri for being a light sleeper. Karkat tucked his jacket back into place before closing it and making his way towards the old wooden stairs, the toughest leg of his journey.  
Using the knowledge that he had gathered the day before in preparation for this challenge, Karkat skillfully avoided the fifth, seventh, and eleventh step, which were the ones that made the loudest and shrillest sound. Tip-toeing carefully down the dark corridor, he approached his bedroom door, letting his guard down slightly. Clearly if Kankri had known that his brother was out, he would have cornered confronted him on the subject sooner. With a sigh of relief, Karkat entered his bedroom, which was a dark as the rest of the house, and quickly stripped of his shirt, ready to fall into bed half-naked if he could get to sleep.  
"Welcome home, Karkat." came Kankri's voice from the direction of his bed. With a start, the smaller Vantas reached out and flicked on his study lamp, swallowing the scream that had formed in his throat. The dim light temporarily blinded him for a moment as his eyes struggled to adjust, but once Karkat could see properly, the first thing he saw was the disapproving look his brother was giving him from his careful perch on the edge of Karkat's bed.  
"Kankri, what the hell?" he screeched, heart pounding rapidly against his rib cage, "You scared the actual fuck out of me!" Suddenly, Karkat was reminded of the fact that he was shirtless and the scars he had acquired from his days with "dad" were even more noticeable than usual in the low light. Or was it just his imagination? Kankri's eyes drifted up and down his chest as he winced in sympathy at the sight of them. Nope, they were totally noticeable.  
Trying to hide his obvious discomfort with the fact that his brother was not only shirtless but badly scarred, Kankri continued as if nothing had happened, "First, please watch your language Karkat, you know that strong language triggers me unless properly tagged." With a heavy groan, Karkat fell onto the bed face first, rolling his eyes so hard that he was sure the people one state over felt it. Kankri ignored him. "Secondly, the fact that you are, at the moment," he glanced at the clock sitting by Karkat's bed which marked the time as one in the morning, "three hours out past your curfew is unacceptable. I have sat here for hours waiting for you to get home, and I do have a job in case you forgot, only for you to ignore me and not even bother to explain where you were."  
"That's because you won't shut up long enough for me to explain." Karkat growled, sitting up and glaring at his brother. "I was hanging out with Sollux, okay?" he said. Kankri said nothing, but continued staring at him with a neutral expression.  
"You were… hanging out with Sollux three hours past you curfew why, exactly?" Kankri asked, using air quotations on 'hanging out'.  
Karkat rolled his eyes, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Kankri. All we did was sit in his room while I'll forced him to watch rom-coms on Netflix." He said, only partly lying, waving his hand in the air as if brushing off his brother's worries. Kankri looked like he wanted to protest, maybe force the truth from the rebellious teenager, but before he could, there was a sharp knock on the bedroom door.  
"Kan, are you done interrogating Karkat yet?" Cronus called on the other side of the door, "I still think you should wvait until morning."  
Panicking, Kankri shot up. He grabbed a t-shirt and threw it at Karkat, the universal signal for "put-it-on", before he yanked the door open and darted into the hallway, slamming the door shut behind him before Cronus had the opportunity to see the angry red scars crisscrossing Karkat's body.

**Sollux's P.O.V., The Next Morning**

Stifling a tired yawn, Sollux marched into his first period class room, wishing he was anywhere but at school. He hadn't fallen asleep until well passed two in the morning, and then he had almost been late for school because his dream had been too good to wake up from.  
Blushing slightly at the memory of his dream, Sollux made his way over to the back of the classroom and took his seat in the corner.  
The bell rang not a moment after, and the chatter in the room faded to a dull murmur as the teacher began talking, pretending that she didn't hear all the kids talking and not paying attention in the slightest.  
With a jolt, Sollux realized that the seat next to him, which was usually occupied by a grumpy Karkat muttering curses about being up at this "ungodly hour", was empty. One would expect a person with such a vibrant personality such as Karkat to skip class often, but the complete opposite was true. He even came to school with a stomach flu once, and refused to go to the nurse even after he upended his lunch in the boy's bathroom.  
Long story short, Karkat didn't miss school on his own terms. Feeling his sense of unease grow, Sollux was about to ask if he could go to the bathroom, meaning that he was going to drive over to Karkat's house and find out what was wrong, but before he got the chance, the door to the classroom creaked open.  
"Mr. Vantas, how kind of you to join us." The teacher remarked sarcastically as Karkat entered the room. He said nothing, but he did roll his eyes, and handed the teacher his late slip before trudging to the back of the room and taking his seat.  
Suppressing a grin that would reveal his abnormally large teeth, Sollux turned to his friend, prepared to ask him why he was late, only to stop short.  
Karkat, who was usually full of pent up energy he hated to show and spent hours in front of a mirror making sure his hair stuck out just the right way, which often looked like he got hit by a bus. His clothes was rumpled and dirty and he was wearing the same shirt he had yesterday. His hair, usually a shiny dark brown, appeared dead and lifeless and hung down flat, still damp from his morning shower even though Karkat always used a blow dryer to dry it and make it appear fuller. His face, which was admittedly pale on the best of days, looked almost gray and his eyes had heavy purple bags under them, making his cheeks appear even hollower than usual, or maybe they really were sunken in.  
"KK, are you okay?" Sollux asked hesitantly, feeling concerned for his friend.  
"I'm fine." Karkat muttered, responding much too quickly, "I just had a rough night and an early start." he rolled his eyes and resting his head in his hands, "Kankri woke me up an hour earlier then usual to yell at me before school." he gave Sollux a weary look and smirked. "It's kinda your fault actually."

_~Flashback to Last Night~_

Panting slightly and most definitely bright red, Sollux pulled away the kiss only because he needed to breathe. A strand of saliva connected his lips to Karkat's, probably they had been French kissing. Smirking suggestively, Karkat's tongue darted out from between his slightly-parted lips and swiped at the strand playfully.  
And breath Sollux had managed to regain was now effectively gone.  
"You're thuch a damn teathe, KK." Sollux murmured into his ear. Karkat laughed lightly at the statement and Sollux felt every vibration. He hadn't realized that they were still pressed together and he didn't care. It was a wonderful feeling, being this close.  
"You're one to talk, Captor." Karkat flirted back, placing a hand on Sollux's cheek. "You know, I was into you from the start." he admitted sheepishly, making up for it by wrapping his arms around Sollux's neck and pulling him down, brushing their lips together tantalizingly.  
"The feeling ith mutual, Kitten."  
He closed the little distance left between them and pressed their lips together, humming in appreciation as any word of protest Karkat was going to say against the nickname "Kitten" quickly died and he kissed back.  
They didn't stop until Sollux's mom almost caught them shirtless on her prized couch.

_~Flashback Over~_

Feeling himself turn bright red at the memory those words conjured, Sollux opened his mouth to protest but Karkat silenced him with a half-exhausted and half-flirty look. The result was Karkat staring at him with a teasing, half-lidded eyes.  
It was pretty damn effective.  
Pretty sure that even the teacher could see his blush by this point and that the room was at least ten degrees hotter than usual, Sollux turned back to the front of the room and decided to interrogate Karkat later. Hopefully he would have his emotions under control by then.  
"So I hope you will all attend this weekends basketball game and show your support for the school." His teacher was saying. She was an ex-announcer, so she always felt the need to inform her students of any and every event taking place at the school within the next month. "And don't forget, next weekend is the school's annual Valentine's dance, so be sure to bring a date and dress nice!" She proceeded to ramble on about the price of tickets and how much effort went into setting the whole thing up, but Sollux wasn't listening anymore.  
"A Valentine's dance, huh?" he thought with a smirk. A quick glance at Karkat confirmed his suspicions. His friend was leaning as far forward as the desk would allow, his head propped up on his hands, soaking up every word the teacher said.  
Dances weren't really Sollux's thing, but he knew that Karkat, a sucker for cheesy romance of he ever saw one, would love it.  
He grinned and reclined as well as he could in the trap teachers called a "desk". He couldn't wait for next Saturday and, by the looks of things, neither could Karkat.

**Karkat's P.O.V., After School**

**(This part might be easier to understand if you have read my other fanfiction, "Rad Bromance" (IDK) but it isn't required, it just makes the background easier to understand.)**

Exiting the school in a hurry, Karkat had just reached the edge of the parking lot when two things happened. Firstly, the bell rang, signaling that school was over and that it was now okay to leave the building, though Karkat hadn't always cared much for rules. Secondly, someone placed a large hand on his shoulder, squeezing until Karkat was forced to arch his back in pain.  
"Where do you think you're going, short-stuff?" A low voice growled from behind him. "I said I wanted to talk to you, so we're gonna talk."  
He loosened his crushing grip on Karkat's shoulder just enough that it didn't hurt but was extremely uncomfortable.  
The first kids were leaving now, so he pushed Karkat slightly, indicating that he should start walking. The kept a brisk pace until they were in one of the narrow "alleys" the school had, well out of sight from any prying eyes.  
"What do you want?" Karkat asked flatly, forcing himself not to stutter and his voice to remain steady so as to appear calm on the outside.  
"I want several things, but I'm assuming that was a rhetorical question, so I'll just tell you what I want from you." The kid, at least a foot taller then Karkat, said with a twisted grin. "My name is Cameron Orahood, but I assume you already knew that." Suppressing a shiver, Karkat nodded. Everyone in school knew who Cameron was, the once terrifying bully who had gotten his ass kicked and was forced into shame. Every version of the story was different because kids tended to exaggerate, but there was always one similarity in every story Karkat had heard. Cameron was beating up a boy against the lockers when someone no one had ever seen before walked up. He said he was friends with the boy Cameron was bullying and in retaliation, used a weapon that came out of nowhere to beat the shit out of Cameron and save his friend. It was a sweet story, and Karkat wished that someone was there to stand up for him too. "Anyway, I only want you to answer one simple question." Cameron leaned in close and Karkat suppressed the urge to gag at the smell of his breath. "I know you're friends with Dave Strider, so tell me, what is his weakness?"  
The question, though predictable, had no simple answer. In fact, Karkat was stumped for a moment. Dave, though a huge asshole, was exceptionally talented in using swords thanks to all the practice his Bro forces on him. Explosives might work in a fight, but hand-to-hand combat wouldn't and he could probably even deflect bullets with that shitty katana of his. It wouldn't be surprising. Still, what was the infamous Strider's weakness? And that was when the answer hit him so suddenly that Karkat actually felt stupid for not realizing it sooner.  
"John!" he blurted, momentarily forgetting that he had an audience.  
Cameron looked confused for a moment before he grinned and then gave a short, humorous laugh. "You mean John Egbert?" he snickered, looking on the verge of tears from how hard he was laughing. "Why didn't I think of that?" he placed his head in his hand, a twisted grin on his face.  
Swallowing hard, Karkat moved inch by inch towards the mouth of the little alcove they were standing in. Cameron looked to distracted to notice, so, after gathering his courage, he turned and ran towards the school parking lot, his backpack pounding uncomfortably into his small frame with every step.  
Just as he exited the mouth of the alley, Karkat ran directly into something hard and warm.  
"Whoa KK, what'th wrong?" Sollux asked, catching Karkat before he had the chance to stumble and fall from the contact and holding him by the shoulders at arms length. "What were you even doing back there?"  
Shooting a nervous glance over his shoulder, Karkat almost wept with relief to see that Cameron had completely disappeared.  
"It's nothing." Karkat muttered as he wrapped his arms around Sollux and brought him in for a tight hug. He buried his face into Sollux's shirt and breathed in deeply. He had always secretly found his friend's mixed scent of honey and roses soothing. Startled, but only for a second, Sollux grinned and returned Karkat's hug. Though the shorty claimed not to like physical contact, they both knew that he would in a heart beat if given the chance.  
"Wanna head over to my place?" Sollux whispered into Karkat's hair after a solid minute in which neither of them indicated that they wanted the hug to end.  
"Sounds like a plan." Karkat replied after a short pause, grateful that his breathing and heart rates had slowed. Smiling fondly, Sollux leaded down and placed a quick kiss on Karkat's forehead, causing him to flush a brilliant shade of red.  
Acting on a sudden impulse, Karkat tilted his head upwards and stood on his tip-toes, wrapping his arms around Sollux's neck and bring their lips together for a sudden kiss. Shocked, but not at all upset with the abrupt contact, Sollux placed both his hands on Karkat's hips and began kissing back just as passionately, dimly thinking in the back of his mind that they were lucky the school grounds were mostly empty by then. Not wanting to deepen the kiss too much in a public area, Karkat pulled away from the kiss just as suddenly as he had initiated it, breathing heavily again but not caring.  
***randomly switches to Sollux's P.O.V.***  
"I'm not complaining or anything, KK," Sollux began after a moment, placing a hand on the side of Karkat's face and stroking tenderly with the pad of his thumb, "But what the hell wath that about?"  
Karkat grinned up at him, and for a moment, Sollux was breathless again. Karkat didn't genuinely smile often, and it took forever to get him to even if it only lasted a few seconds, but when he did it was big and beautiful and probably the most perfect thing you would ever see in your life. The corners of his eyes would crinkle and his nose would scrunch up and he would have that look in his eyes that just said, You are the most important thing in the world to me. It took all his willpower to not lean in and kiss Karkat again.  
"I'm just. . . really glad to see you." Karkat breathed, pressing his forehead to Sollux's and giving him a tiny kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Now come on, I really don't want to be here right now." He grabbed Sollux's hand and dragged him through the almost empty parking lot towards the car, which they had parked in the middle of the lot that morning when they had arrived at school.  
Dumbly, Sollux followed, still flushed red from the neck up. Still, he smiled. Maybe it was the weather that made him feel that way, maybe it was how the light breeze made Karkat's forever messy hair blow around cutely, but it was probably the warm feeling spreading in his chest.  
He had always known that feeling was there, but it was only at that moment that Sollux knew what it was. It was love. Specifically, love for Karkat.

**Still Sollux's P.O.V., The Next Morning**

Cracking one eye open, Sollux looked at the clock he always kept by his bedside. Having it there saved him the energy of having to get up and walk over to his dresser, the only other close surface which happened to be on the other side of the room, to read it.  
6: 27 a.m.  
Figures. One the one day he wanted to sleep in, Saturday, the most sacred of days, and he gets before what should even be considered legal all on his own. Just great.  
Sighing, he wrapped his arm tighter around Karkat's waist and brought him closer, wanting to leech of his unnatural body heat and hopefully get back to sleep before his brain had the chance to start up. Alas, such a thing was not meant to be.  
Groaning in his sleep, Karkat twisted around in the bed until he was facing Sollux and the once neat blankets were nothing but a bundle around his legs.  
And, before any of you perverts get any ideas, nothing happened. The night before, Karkat had gone over to Sollux's house after school and ended up staying the night, which meant that "someone" (a.k.a Sollux's mom) practically force fed both boys until they could hardly get up the stairs. It actually almost came to force feeding, seriously, that woman is crazy.  
After that particularly traumatizing experience, they both fell asleep cuddled up on Sollux's bed while watching rom-coms on Netflix.  
Sleepily, Karkat peaked one heavy eye open and gave Sollux a long, hard look before his resolve splintered and he grinned. "Morning." Karkat yawned, stretching out his arms and legs and moaning without pulling away out of Sollux's grasp.  
"Wow, I didn't realize you were a morning perthon, KK." He replied, pulling Karkat closer and nuzzling into his hair. "It'th actually kinda cute."  
"Shut up." Karkat muttered into his shoulder, hiding a grin. "I am so not cute." he protested weakly, trying to force himself into the crook under Sollux's chin.  
Laughing slightly, Sollux stretched out, letting Karkat worm his way closer. "You are cute, and everyone knowth it." This earned him a low growl, but Sollux continued. "Ethpecially in the morning, when your hair ith everywhere and you look so innocent and helpleth without your uthual wall." Running a hand through Karkat's hair and being careful to avoid pulling it, Sollux hummed thoughtfully as he continues on with his monologue, "Actually, I think I could get uthed to waking up and theeing you every morning." he mused.  
Karkat tilted his head up and locked eyes with Sollux, "What does that mean?" he asked, sounding hopeful, worried, curious, and anxious all at the same time, a feat only Karkat could pull off.  
"I'm not thaying we thould get married or anything," Sollux explained quickly, trying to ignore the way his face burned at the thought. "I mean, we're not even out of high thcool yet." Karkat nodded in agreement, though his expression had dropped some. "However, I do recall thomething happening next weekend that I know you would love to be a part off." Sollux teased, pressing both of their foreheads together.  
It took Karkat a moment to get what Sollux was implying, but when he did, his face flushed and his expression was one of embarrassment, flattery, and poorly concealed excitement. "Y-You mean the Valentine's D-dance at school?" he stuttered, bring his hands up to his face to hide the blush coating his face.  
"Yep." Sollux breathed, giving Karkat a quick butterfly kiss, which only made his blush deepen. "Do you wanna go with me?" he asked. Suddenly, Sollux was struck by the very real possibility that Karkat could turn him down. Clearly, there was nothing binding them together and he had the right to say "no" if he didn't want to go to the dance or just flat out didn't like Sollux.  
That was not something he wanted.  
Without warning, something beneath Sollux's grip began shaking and vibrating, launching him out of his thoughts. It took him a second to realize Karkat was laughing.  
Confused, Sollux stared at him, eyebrow raised, while he laughed, long and loud.  
"Are you done yet?" he asked after a minute or two. Karkat had stopped laughing, but he still continued to giggle, muffling the sound with his hand.  
"Yeah, I'm good." he replied with a grin.  
"Why did you thuddenly thtart laughing?" Sollux asked quietly, threading his hands through Karkat's mass of hair. "Did I thay thomething funny?"  
Karkat paused, appearing to ponder the question. He stared thoughtfully into space for a second or two before looking back to Sollux and shaking his head slowly. "No, I just think it's funny that you want to go to some lame high school dance with me." he explained with a calm expression.  
Sollux rolled his eyes. "Tho you're thaying you don't want to go? Becauthe I've had my eye on this girl in firtht period, and-" He was cut off when Karkat slapped his chest firmly, hard enough to get his attention but not hard enough to actually hurt.  
"I never said I didn't want to go, dumbass." Karkat said with a half-angry, half-embarrassed voice, a light blush coloring his cheeks.  
Now it was Sollux's turn to laugh. "Well, if you inthitht, KK, then I gueth we can go to the thtupid dance." he teased, causing Karkat to scowl and punch him in the arm playfully, an impressive feat, considering how close they were. "You know I'm jutht teathing you." he chuckled, placing a swift kiss on Karkat's forehead.  
"I know." He sighed happily, looking up at Sollux. They stayed that way for a pause, each waiting for the other to say something as they both subconsciously leaned in closer. Finally, Karkat rolled his eyes and began speaking, "So… does this make us… 'boyfriends' now, or friends with benefits, or what?" he asked, blushing at the prospect of dating.  
Sollux hummed thoughtfully, pretending to consider the idea while Karkat glared at him impatiently. "Well, I dunno know about you, but I want to be boyfriends." Sollux confessed, making eye-contact with Karkat to show that he was serious. "I know it theems a bit cliché and we are only in high thchool, but I can't imagine being with anyone other than you." he breathed, leaning in so that he was speaking directly into Karkat's ear.  
The smaller boy's reaction was instantaneous, and the blush that covered what appeared to be Karkat's entire body was brighter than anything Sollux had ever seen before. In fact, he was at loss for something to compare it to. That's how impressive it was.  
"That sounds… great." Karkat responded once he had stopped blushing so hotly. "Being boyfriends, I mean." he corrected himself quickly, knowing that Sollux would tease him about his choice of wording later anyway.  
Grinning mischiefly, Sollux rested both hands on either side of Karkat's slim waist, using the little body weight he provided to propel himself sideways, so that he was now straddling Karkat on his bed.  
"Tho it'th official?" Sollux asked, leaning in so close that he could actually count the freckles on Karkat's face if he so desired, which he didn't.  
"It's official." The Cancer agreed softly, not wanting to ruin the moment or stutter by talking too loud. His face was already back to being bright red, the way it usually was around Sollux.  
"You know," Sollux hummed thoughtfully, pulling away slightly, which only made Karkat whine softly, having been denied a kiss the entire morning. "You bluth tho often, that I don't think I've ever theen your actual thkin tone." he taunted. Of course, this observation that perfectly mirrored Karkat's own thoughts only made the poor boy pout and blush even brighter.  
Seriously, how do the veins running to his cheeks even still work after how much he uses them?  
Karkat looked at Sollux out of the corner of his eye and smiles, knowing that he was just kidding. Then he frowned, having just recalled why he was upset in the first place.  
"KK? Why are you upset?" Sollux asked, confused. No sooner had he finished his sentence, than Karkat reached up and laced his arms around his neck, yanking him down so harshly that their lips brushed together before Sollux caught himself right before he smashed directly into Karkat. Still, the action got his point across brilliantly.  
Rolling his eyes briefly, Sollux huffed and leaned down, giving Karkat the kiss he had been practically begging for.  
(Later, Sollux's mom would walk in on them making out and then promptly announce her discovery to the rest of the world via Twitter, and all of their friends questioned them the next day, but that's a hilarious and embarrassing story best left to be told at another time.)

* * *

**If you can't tell, this chapter is mainly for foreshadowing and my own pathetic attempt at fluff, but in the next chapter I'm really going to play up the drama. You have been warned.  
Alright, anyway, I don't know why but for some reason I really care about what the color of roses represent, so I'm putting it here for anyone that might actually care. To quote the Condesce, "DWI".  
Red – Love, Beauty, Courage and Respect, Congratulations, "I love you", Passion  
Dark Red – Unconscious beauty  
Single Red Rose - "I love you"  
White – Purity, Innocence, Silence, Secrecy, Reverence, Humility, Youthfulness, "I am worthy of you"  
Pink – Appreciation, Grace, Perfect Happiness, Admiration, Gentleness, "Please believe me"  
Light Pink – Admiration, Sympathy, Gentleness, Grace, Joy  
Yellow – Gladness, Friendship, Delight, Promise Of A New Beginning, Remember Me, Jealousy  
Yellow With Red Tips – Friendship, Falling In Love  
Orange – Desire, Enthusiasm  
Red and White – Given Together These Signify Unity  
Red and Yellow – Happy Feelings  
Peach – Appreciation, Let's Get Together, Gratitude  
Coral – Desire  
Lavender – Love At First Sight  
Black – Death, Farewell  
Blue – The Unattainable  
Thorn-less Rose - "Love At First Sight"  
And. . . I'm done. You're welcome. Anyway, I was just thinking that the lavender roses and the yellow ones with red tips described Karkat's and Sollux's relationship pretty well in this story. Yes? No? Maybe so? Well, nobody asked you.**


	4. In Which The Cliff-Hanger Is Shitty

**And chapter four! Aren't I great? (JK, I'm actually not. Seriously, ask anyone of my friends.)  
****Depending on how long this ends up being, I might have to do a fifth and final chapter, otherwise, this will be the last one! Hurray!  
****Also, sorry to my editer but I just found out I could do this on my phone and I got excited.**

* * *

**Kankri's P.O.V., One Week and a Day Later, 4: 34 pm**

Nervously, Karkat paced back and forth across his bedroom methodically, occasionally stopping to finger his suit before continuing to pace.  
"Karkat," Kankri interrupted from his perch on the bed, "Could you please stop pacing? Not only is it counterproductive, but I find your nervousness very triggering."  
Rolling his eyes, Karkat opened his mouth, probably to tell his brother to "fuck off" but stopped. He sighed, and then fell backwards on the bed next to Kankri, groaning as he placed a pillow over his face to muffle the sound before throwing the bundle of softness at the far wall. "I can't help it, okay?" he practically yelled, digging his nails into his hair. "I'm just so fucking nervous." Karkat rolled over in bed, realized he had discarded the pillow, and instead used the mattress to bury his face into.  
#Physical C9ntact  
Kankri hummed thoughtfully, rubbing soothing circles into Karkat's back as he pondered ways to fix this ordeal. "For what it is worth, I do not think you have any reason to be so distressed at all." Kankri offered, trying to assist his brother without coming across as too pushy, as he was often accused of being. Karkat, in response, twisted his head sideways so that the two were making eye contact. He said nothing, but gave Kankri a look that said, "are you shitting me?".  
#Attitude  
Sighing heavily, Kankri resisted the urge to roll his eyes and prevented himself from becoming annoyed. Karkat was just trying to get to him, and it wasn't going to work. Not today.  
"Look," Kankri began, dropping a bit of his usual formal tone in his voice so that Karkat knew he was serious, "I know that I'm not exactly what one would call an expert on romance," this earned him an eye roll from Karkat, which he politely ignored. "But please consider my reasoning. If he didn't like you, then he wouldn't have asked you to the dance in the first place, correct?"  
Karkat looked like he was going to protest simply for the sake of protesting, but then he paused, considering Kankri's words, before he sighed in acceptance and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you have a point..." he relented, realizing that, for once, Kankri was right.  
"And, if it makes you feel any better, I'm sure he's just as anxious as you are." Kankri continued, still rubbing his brother's back. Karkat nodded into the bed, subconsciously leaning into his brother's touch. "After all, as the dominant in your relationship, he mostly likely feels as though all the pressure is on him." Kankri looked as though he was going to continue, most likely for another hour or so in extreme detail, but he was cut off when Karkat slapped a hand over his mouth.  
"Kankri." he began, looking the older Vantas in the eye, "Shut up." And then he smiled and leaned in wrapping his arms around Kankri in a rare hug. The before mentioned Vantas sighed happily and smiled, hugging Karkat back. "Thanks, Kanny." he whispered into his brother's shoulder.  
Kankri grinned. Just this once, he would hold off the nickname lecture.

**Sollux's P.O.V., Same Time**

Sollux, like Karkat, was extremely nervous about the upcoming dance. Currently, he was re-evaluating every decision he had made since he was four. Unlike Karkat however, his brother was not known for giving great advice, which he was having no problem proving to Sollux as their conversation continued.  
"All I'm thaying ith, if he hated you, he wouldn't have thaid "yeth", right?" Mituna clarified for the thousandth time in the past five minutes. "Of courthe, he could alwayth be pulling your leg, thetting you up for a prank or thomething…" he murmured as he paced Sollux's room. Mituna was extremely paranoid and though his parents found it endearing, it was giving Sollux a serious migraine. In fact, it seemed as though Mituna had completely forgotten that he had an audience and he was now acting as if this was his own problem to deal with. He was even sweating nervously for God's sake!  
"Hey Tuna?" Sollux called after another minute of this.  
Mituna looked up at the sound of his nickname and blinked rapidly, as if he was surprised to see his brother sitting there. In his own room. "Yeah Thol?"  
Sollux rolled his eyes and stood up. "Get out of my room!" he shouted, pushing Mituna towards the door. Frowning, Mituna said nothing, allowing himself to be forcibly removed from Sollux's room. He remembered how nervous he had been during his first date with Latula, so he didn't blame his brother for being so uptight. Sighing, Sollux slammed the door after Mituna and leaned his forehead against the cool surface. He was already nervous enough, and Mituna, as much as he liked to believe otherwise, was not helping.  
Groaning, Sollux made his way over to his bed and immediately fell face first into it's plush surface. Distantly, he heard Mituna's foot falls on the stairs, heading downstairs or, in more literal terms, _away_. After a few moments of smothering his face into the bed and just trying not to think in general, Sollux stood up. His gaze automatically flew to the right and, sure enough, there it was. The suit. The one he'd asked Kanaya to hand make just for the dance.  
Just for Karkat...  
Running a hand through his tangled hair, Sollux sighed, knowing where this was heading. Sure enough, not even a minute later, he found himself perched on the window sill, ready to jump. Instead of being stupid enough to attempt that however, Sollux chose to be realistic and he shimmied down the drain pipe, landing safely on the ground just outside his bedroom window. He hit the ground in a running position and just as soon as he worked out that nothing was broken, he took of towards Karkat's house.  
No doubt the shorty would yell at him for coming over, but secretly be thankful he had. He was smiling just thinking about it. Strangely, it was not the thought of teasing Karkat that made Sollux smile, it was the prospect of seeing him at all that set his emotions on high.  
And that scared him.  
Realizing that he had reached his destination, Sollux forcibly put his thoughts on hold. This was no time to worry about his own problems. Taking a deep breath, Sollux hesitantly raised his hand and knocked on Karkat's front door. He didn't hear any change inside the house and considered leaving, until the door swung open and a rather disheveled looking Kankri stood in the doorway.  
"Oh, hello Sollux." He greeted pleasantly, even going so far as to smile slightly as he spoke.  
"Uh, hi." Sollux said awkwardly. Usually, Karkat would answer the door or just let him when they occasionally hung out after school, so he had never really had to deal with Kankri. "Um, ith Karkat home?" He said finally, starting to get creeped out from the way Kankri was eyeing him. Damn, that was creepy.  
"Oh, of course! My apologies, Sollux, how rude of me." Kankri said, stepping back and opening the door widely. Moving quickly, Sollux entered the house, worried that Kankri would change his mind and shut the door. "Karkat is currently upstairs, in his room." He added, almost as an afterthought, as he made his way to the kitchen. Wordlessly, Sollux moved towards the stairs, managing to climb them without making a sound, a skill he had picked up through practice. He knocked on Karkat's bedroom door softly, prompting what sounded like an annoyed groan from the other side.  
"Go away, Kankri!" Karkat shouted from the other side. Sollux smirked slightly to himself and twisted the door knob, letting himself into the room, an action which was not silent and, therefore, did not go unnoticed by Karkat. "Kankri, I thought I told you to-" he began, whirling around to face the intruder, only to stop mid-sentence when he realized that it was, in fact, Sollux in his doorway and not Kankri. Immediately, Karkat slammed his mouth shut as his cheeks flushed bright red and he pretty much forgot how to speak, as was the norm around Sollux.  
"Happy to thee me, KK?" He asked with a grin, taking the initiative and entering the room, as Karkat was apparently not going to offer.  
"I-I, that is- how- why- what are you doing here?" Karkat stuttered out, looking adorable with his face flushed as he tried in vain to regain his composure. Sollux smirked as an idea formed in his brain. Instead of sitting on the bed as he had been tempted to do, he turned mid-stride and faced Karkat, who appeared not to have noticed the sudden change in direction, as he was now ranting about his "invasion of privacy".  
How cute. He thought he had any privacy to invade in the first place! Aww…  
"-and I can't believe that Kankri, who knew exactly how I would fucking react to this, would let you just walk in here like you own the fucking place!" Karkat was saying as Sollux tuned back into the conversation. The shorty was talking up a storm and he waved his hands around in the meaningful movements that Sollux assumed would make sense had he been listening.  
As he waited for the perfect opening, Sollux found himself staring. Specifically, staring at Karkat.  
The little guy wasn't just cute, he was hot and didn't even realize it. When Karkat was mad, his eyes just lit up with rage, seeming to actually be smoldering in the right light. It was the king of look that made one want to provoke him, just so they could see the passion in his eyes. His lips too. When he was shouting, his mouth always pulled back into a snarl of fury, disgust, or something in between. It was very distracting. And not only did his messy bedhead look innocently boyish, but the way it framed his angular face was just begging for attention.  
Attention that Sollux was more than willing to give.  
"Have you even heard a single fucking word I've said, Captor?" Karkat practically screeched. Sollux wasn't fazed, though it was a bit harder than what was considered platonic for him to tear his gaze away from Karkat's lips.  
Sollux nodded, "Yeah, I heard, I jutht didn't particularly care." he explained, seeming unbothered by the whole situation.  
Well, that did the trick. Karkat, who had been managing to keep his temper mostly in check until then, was not in the mood for Sollux's bullshit. "Now listen here, Captor!" He began with rage in his eyes, pointing his finger at Sollux as he spoke. "I have had it up to _here_ with you and your fucking bull-" he was cut off mid-rant when Sollux, having finally been giving the opening he was looking for, grasped Karkat's hand tenderly between his own, causing the boy to stutter through the rest of his sentence and flush bright red.  
Before he could protest about the position however, Sollux moved one hand to the small of his back and pulled Karkat closer until their bodies were pressed flush against each other. By that point, where there had once been an extremely pissed off boy, was only a blushing, incoherent pile of mush that Sollux referred to as his boyfriend.  
It was seriously adorable  
"Are you thure you're mad at me?" Sollux teased, using the hand that had been clutching at Karkat's to tilt his chin up until they were making eye contact. Karkat said nothing, still to flustered for words, but stared up at Sollux in a way that can only be described as unadulterated adoration, even if neither boy realized it at the moment. Subconsciously, Karkat's gaze drifted away from Sollux's eyes until they rested on his lips, which were still pulled back from the smirk he was wearing, allowing the tips of his pointed teeth to stick out cutely. Leaning in slightly, Karkat closed his eyes, hoping that Sollux would lean in and kiss him.

***The author briefly considers being a dick as she waits for her omelette at IHOP by making Kankri walk in, or something of the like, thus ruining the moment, but decides that the ship shall be allowed to sail.  
****For now...***

Noticing this, the smirk slips from Sollux's face and is replaced by a much more tender expression. One could describe the look in his eyes as "intimate passion", or something along those lines, but I'm not cheesy, so I won't. Instead I'll finish this scene.  
He leaned in, pressing his lips against Karkat's, causing the boy, who was standing on his tip-toes by this point, to hum softly in appreciation and kiss back.  
Karkat smiled into the kiss and raised his arms, placing both hands around Sollux's neck, prompting him to lower his own hands and wrap them around Karkat's tiny waist. Sollux grinned and pulled back, staring down at Karkat lovingly.  
"Okay. One more time. Are you thure you're mad at me?" He whispered, as if this moment was a secret meant to be only between them. Karkat just nodded, and Sollux took the opportunity to lean in and press a kiss on the corner of his mouth.  
"Yes." Karkat breathed once he pulled away, as if speaking any louder would cause Sollux to disappear. Said boy, who didn't disappear, smiled and leaned down, kissing Karkat once again.  
It was safe to say that he was no longer nervous.

**Karkat's P.O.V., The Next Day, 6: 47 pm**

Once again, Karkat found himself pacing the room. Unlike the day before, however, he was not in his own room. Instead, he settled for pacing John's room. Also differing from his previous room-pacing, Karkat was in no mood to be comforted, a fact that he was currently struggling to beat into John's dense think pan, er, brain.  
"Karkat, quit pacing already. You're starting to sweat." John commented off-handedly from his position in front of the full-length mirror. How he could even see such a small detail from that distance was a miracle, but Karkat didn't care enough to appreciate it.  
At least John didn't complain about being triggered.  
"Does it look like I give a shit, Egbert?" Karkat shot back, making eye contact via the mirror and glaring at him. At the use of his last name, John stopped fiddling with his tie and turned around, giving Karkat a long, hard stare before, finally, he spoke.  
"Alright, Karkat, spill. You've been anxious and short tempered since you got here. Explain." With a sigh, Karkat ran a hand through his hair and his shoulders slumped, as if anger was the only thing keeping him standing tall.  
"It's just that... I'm afraid I'll mess up." He said after a moment. "I really like Sollux, and I'm just worried about fucking our relationship over by messing up what is technically our first date." Karkat ranted, going back to pacing, much to the annoyance of John. "What if I trip while dancing and we both end up looking like dumbasses? What if someone spiked the punch and I get enough alcohol in my system that I throw up? What if I dressed to formally, or my hair looks stupid, or-" he was cut off suddenly by John.  
"Karkat, seriously, you look fine, quite worrying." He insisted, reassuring his friend for what seemed like that millionth time in the past hour, "Honestly, you seem even more worried than me." Neither said it, but they both knew that was an achievement.  
Practically seething at the indirect insult, Karkat glared at him, hands clenching and unclenching into fists, "Nice observation, Sherlock. We'd better hand you a fucking medal." He spat sarcastically.  
John sighed, knowing Karkat only got this way when he was super nervous. Still, it was a pain in the ass to deal with. Somehow knowing exactly what his friend needed, John wrapped his arms around the shorty, who was checking his reflection in the mirror again. At first, Karkat struggled against the hug, as it was ruffling is suit, but after a minute of hugging and shushing, he had calmed down and was even hugging back. "Better?" John asked tentatively when he pulled away a few minutes later.  
Karkat smiled softly up at him and nodded sheepishly, "Yeah, thanks John. Sorry I was being such a dick." He apologized.  
John scoffed, rolling his eyes as well, "Are you kidding? Compared to your normal behavior you were an angel." He teased. Karkat gave him a glare, but it was half-baked and spoke only of amusement.  
At least he was calm now.  
Without warning, the door bell rung, unusually loud in the barely concealed tension that filled the room, causing Karkat to jump in surprise. "I'll get it!" John shouted, running to beat Karkat to the door. For someone so little, he sure was fast. Unfortunately for him, John had the advantage of longer legs and a huge head start, so he reached the door first, pausing for a moment to rub his victory in Karkat's face before opening the door.  
Blushing slightly, Karkat backed up and silently made his way up the stairs, an impressive feat, considering the reputation stairs in general have.  
"Hi, you mutht be KK'th friend. John, right?" He heard Sollux greet with his lisp.  
"Karkat!" John yelled after a few seconds, "Your date is here!" He could literally _feel_ the grin in John's voice as his words traveled up the stairs. Asshole.  
"Fuck off, John!" Karkat yelled as he makes his way down the stairs, trying to ignore the blush he knew was coloring his cheeks. Sollux grinned when he saw him and Karkat felt his stomach flip and his heart flutter as a hand was held out, inviting him to step outside.  
"Ready to go, KK?" Sollux asked, and, as if throwing a switch, the scattered remains of Karkat's anger evaporate, replaced by something much more tender, and he smiled shyly, faking confidence as he took Sollux's hand and walked to his car, getting in without hesitating or sparing a backward glance at John.

**(I get that this next part is kind of random, but it is actually what one would call "foreshadowing", so bear with me.)**

Karkat had been afraid that the drive to the school would be silent and awkward, but as soon as they got in the car and Sollux activated the engine, the song, _"How To Be A Heartbreaker"_ by _Marina and The Diamonds _came on, filling the car with sound because the stereo was still jacked up from whatever Sollux had been listening to before he arrived.  
Karkat immediately began humming the first few notes as the familiar beat played. It was then that he looked over to the left and realized that Sollux was doing it was well. With a small smile, he leaned over and turned the volume up by two notches before, hesitantly, he began singing.  
"Rule number one," he began, watching Sollux's tips twitch slightly at the corners as the car began moving. "Is that you gotta have fun. But baby when you're done, you gotta be the first to run."  
Sollux took a deep breath as he grinned before joining in. "Rule number two," he sang along with Karkat, "Just don't get attached too, somebody you could lose, so le-le-let me tell you." They were both smiling as they made eye contact, singing along in nearly perfect harmony. Karkat didn't usually sing, so Sollux was surprised to find that he actually had a high singing voice, but not girlishly so. Like wise, Karkat was impressed, but not completely shocked, with Sollux's deeper singing voice.  
They sang the rest of song together without a care in the world until they reached the school. Luckily, with the combination of Sollux's speeding and the lack of traffic on his shortcut, they arrived just as the song ended.  
Karkat reached to open the door, but Sollux swiped his hand away with a grin and got out, running around to his side and opening the door himself with an over dramatic flourish. Karkat giggled softly and accepted the hand that was offered to him, stepping out of the car. Normally, he would have grumbled about the gesture and gotten out on his own, but for some reason, he didn't feel like blocking out his emotions around Sollux. It's… nice to have someone that makes him feel like that.  
"Tho, thould we make an amazing grand entrance?" Sollux asked playfully, nudging Karkat slightly for emphasis. "Becauthe we totally could."  
Karkat pretends to ponder this prospect for a moment before answering. "Well, we could, or we could sneak in the back and surprise Kanaya when we show up."  
"Well, if you want to," Sollux agrees. He tries to sound disappointed, but fails, "After all, you're the uke so I have to keep you happy." At this remark, Karkat blushes a deep shade of red and scowls, smacking Sollux's arm.  
"Fuck off, I am so not a damn uke!" he protested.  
Sollux just chuckles, wrapping an arm around Karkat's waist and pulling him close. "You are motht definitely a uke, KK. It ith an undeniable fact." Karkat says nothing, but growls and pulls away, hoping the low lighting will hide his barely-there-smirk and blush. Sollux walks up behind him and wraps his arms around Karkat's waist from behind. He had seen guys do this in pretty much all of the romcoms he had been forced to watch, so he knew that Karkat would be perfectly okay with him doing it, even if he refused to admit it. Sure enough, instead of pulling away and being stubborn, Karkat stiffened slightly before giving in to his inner romantic and leaning back, resting his head against Sollux's chest and breathing in deeply. Some people might find it a bit creepy, but Karkat had always loved the way that Sollux smelled, like honey and rain, if that makes any sense. It was an odd, but incredibly soothing mixture.  
"Ready to go in?" Sollux whispered to him, leaning down so that he could kiss Karkat if he so desired. Which he did, but now was not the time.  
"Yeah…" Karkat muttered, straightening his posture and stepping away from Sollux only slightly. "Come on, let's go." They smiled at each other and began to move towards the building. They had just made it into the gym were the dance was being held, when Karkat's cell phone buzzed with an incoming text message. He sighed and rolled his eyes, signaling for Sollux to wait at the threshold with him before pulling out his phone.  
"Huh, that's strange... it's from Kankri." He muttered mostly to himself, clicking on the message icon to see what his brother wanted. "He's usually against texting all together..." Karkat swallowed heavily, feeling his sense of unease grow as he read the message.

_C9me h9me immediately and c9me al9ne. It's an emergency._

Karkat read it five more times just be sure he understood what it said. The message was so... cryptic, which was so unlike Kankri that he had to check again to make sure that is was actually from his brother. "Um, Sollux?" Karkat began slowly, turning to his date to break the bad news.  
"What did the text thay?" He asked in response, sounding completely at ease and even a little... happy. God, Karkat really didn't want to do this. They had both been looking forward to this night for a week, anxious and impatient, and now that it was time, Karkat had to go.  
"Well, normally I would ignore anything Kankri told me to do, but this sounds pretty serious." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.  
"What'th wrong, KK?" Sollux asked, worry creasing his brow. "Did thomething happen?"  
Karkat frowned. "I don't know, he didn't say. But it sounds important." And here comes the awkward part. "He, uh, he wants me to head home. Alone."  
Sollux paused, staring a Karkat with an unreadable expression. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "Tho, are you going?" He asked with a tight voice full of suppressed emotion. Karkat looked away, feeling the guilt rise with each second that he maintained eye contact with Sollux's judgemental stare.  
"I... have to go." He said finally. Karkat took a deep breath and turned, stepping out of the door, hoping that Sollux would reach out and stop him. He didn't. The world wasn't a romcom and real romance didn't always work out. Karkat realized that as he walked away from the gym. His steps faltered and he gave into the impulse, turning around to go back to Sollux and apologize. Except... Sollux wasn't there. He had gone into the gym. Alone.  
Karkat swallowed a lump in his throat and rubbed at his eyes until they felt so raw that he was certain that no tears would escape. After that, he turned and ran down the path that he knew would lead him home.

**Sollux's P.O.V., Same Time, 6: 56 pm**

With a sigh, Sollux turned away from the door and stepped into the crowd dancing in the middle of the gym. Even though it was supposed to be a Valentine's dance, there was definitely more than one couple grinding against each other or making out against the wall. Actually, he was pretty sure that he saw Terezi and Vriska doing exactly that, but whatever, stranger things have happened. He stood against the wall for a few minutes before he spotted Kanaya sitting at one of the tables, watching the party with a careless gaze, and made his way over to her. "What are you doing?" he asked, taking a seat across from Kanaya. She blinked and looked over to him, seeming not to have been aware of his presence until he sat down.  
"I am observing our friends or, more accurately, their outfits." She explained, eyeing the door as more people arrived. "I made all of them, and I am curious as to how well they function in an atmosphere like this." She waved her hand around in the air for emphasis.  
Sollux nodded, looking away from the crowd. For some reason, seeing the couples making out on the dance floor made his stomach tighten. "I gueth that maketh thense…."  
Kanaya did a quick once over of the room before turning back to Sollux. "Where is Karkat? Was he not your date?" She asked innocently. At the mention of his failed love life, Sollux cringed, looking away from Kanaya's calculating gaze.  
"He, uh, he had to go. Family emergency, I gueth" Sollux offered lamely, studying his shoes quite intently as he did so.  
"Ah." Kanaya said after a moment, going back to surveying the crowd straight-faced. "I have only known him for a month, but I know this is not what he would want." Kanaya shared honestly, looking away from Terezi and Vriska making-out against a wall and studying him once more.  
"What are you talking about, Kan?" Sollux sighed, resting his head in his hand to avoid looking at her. Probably not the most efficient tactic, but the dimmed lights and loud music were causing his head to pound, so Sollux felt he deserved the right to fuck logic over if he so desired. Unfortunately, Kanaya did not seem to feel the same way.  
"I mean," she began, annoyance creeping in to her usually well-controlled tone, which was almost unheard off, "Karkat is a hopeless romantic. To him, the fact that you chose not to go after him probably hurt more than leaving did." She explained, watching as realization slowly spread across Sollux's features until the look gave way to actual horror.  
"Fuck, do you think I jutht ruined any chance I had to be with him?" he asked, bouncing one leg up and down nervously as he ran a hand through his hair wild hair.  
"Firstly, you were already dating, so that is a good sign." Kanaya started, folding her hands carefully over the table as she spoke, "And secondly, I think that if you showed up, despite having just shown your lack of concern for his emotions, he would find that incredibly touching, don't you agree?" She stopped talking, smirking as Sollux came to the exact same realization himself.  
"Thit, I fucked up." He muttered. Kanaya opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Sollux shot up in his seat, startling her and everyone else within ten feet. "I gotta go!" He announced, turning around and making his way through the crowd with a precision that only comes with someone who spent the first two years of middle school obsessed with Tetris.  
Kanaya just sighed, taking a sip of tea out of the flask she had managed to sneak in by attaching it to her inner thigh. She was smart enough to know that you never drink the punch at a school dance. "Rose will be most pleased with this development..." she spoke softly into her flask before taking a long drink out of it. "Most pleased indeed..."  
Meanwhile, Sollux was going through a realization as he ran to his car. His breath was slightly labored and he could see his breath in front of him, a white cloud in the frigid air. In the all the excitement, Sollux had actually forgotten that it was still February. God, he hoped Karkat would be okay. He had been forced to walk home and now the guilt of that action was eating Soux from the inside out. He was a horrible boyfriend. It was him.  
He hopped into the driver's seat of his car, fumbling with the keys and mumbling a few select curse words before finally managing to start the car. With a muffled shout of frustration, he slammed on the gas, not releasing the pressure in the slightest even as the sudden motion forced him back against his seat. He made his way towards the Vantas household by memory only. His thoughts were somewhere else entirely. He kept asking himself complicated questions like, "Why am I even doing this?" and, "Why do I even care?". For some reason, the answer to these questions was hard for him to reach. Or maybe the answer was right in front of him, and he was just being a dumbass. Probably the second one.  
As soon as Sollux worked that out, he forced himself to calm down and think as he drove at least fifteen miles over the speed limit. Why was he so nervous around Karkat? Why did the prospect of losing him make his chest hurt so bad? And most importantly, why did his heart flutter whenever he was around Karkat? And then the answer hit him so suddenly, that he almost had pull over or risk losing control of the car. Luckily, Sollux hit the brake at the right moment, and he didn't crash, just skidded over the road dangerous before the car continued, this time at the correct speed limit. Why didn't he realize the answer sooner? This whole time, he had assumed that his relationship with Karkat was a one-time-thing. Two high school sweethearts who broke up and never saw each other again after college. He pondered this foolish idea as he turned a corner, entering his and Karkat's neighborhood.  
What he had not expected was to fall in love. No, that concept had not crossed his mind at all. But he knew the truth now. He was in love with Karkat and there was no going back now.

**Karkat's P.O.V., Ten Minutes Ago**

Swallowing his tears and trying to work the circulation back into his numb fingers, Karkat sighed as he made his way up the walkway to his front door. He had been planning on giving Kankri an earful for dragging him away from the dance to deal with this shit, but now he just didn't feel like it. He just couldn't find the motivation within himself to do anything besides walk, which he was pretty damn good at.  
Karkat paused at the front door. Something about his normally welcoming house seemed… off for some reason. Usually, the lights on the front porch would be on, but they were completely dead to the world, and it was so unlike Kankri to forget to do such a thing that Karkat actually had to do a double take. Secondly, the blinds over the windows were shut tightly, not a single streak of light entering or exiting the house. Something in his gut told Karkat that this _was not normal_, but if Kankri was injured in there, he could just walk away, no matter how much he talked.  
And so, with a sense of dread, Karkat reached out and opened the door, letting light from the quarter-moon behind him spill into the foyer. He reached out blindly towards the wall, feeling for the light switch. When his fingers finally met the cool plastic, he almost wept with relief. But alas, it was not to be. The switch made a clicking sound as he flicked it repeatedly, growing more and more desperate with each passing second, but it was no use.  
The power was out.  
Figures.  
"Hello?" He called hesitantly, creeping into the house quietly, "Is anyone here?" There was, predictably, no answer. Karkat squinted, trying to make out the shadowy figures in the dim light. He eased himself away from the door, working his way deeper into the house. The sense of wrongness that had surrounded Karkat even as he had approached the house only grew as he continued moving. His muscles were tensed and he was prepared to run at any moment, but curiosity prevented him from doing so immediately.  
"Kankri?" He whispered, feeling along the walls to prevent himself from tripping over a piece of furniture. "Cronus?" He tried weakly. Cronus had been here when he left around six to head over to John's, so he had just shrugged it off, figuring that it was implied Cronus was also spending the night, as he usually did.  
Just then, Karkat's foot collided with something soft and he pinwheeled his arms out of instinct, just barely managing to stay standing. At first, he thought that the large, squishy mass in front of him was just another pile. He and Kankri both tended to make large piles of random stuff when they were bored or sad or just need to collect their thoughts. Most people thought it was weird, but pile-making is and _art_. An _art_. Anyway, Karkat was tempted to kick the pile again, but when it let out a low groan, he changed his mind. Well, either that or his body was too stiff from fear to kick much of anything at the moment. Probably the second one.  
Suppressing the urge to gag, Karkat kneeled down, touching the form in from of his after a moment of thought. The figure groaned again, and it was only then that the smell of unlit tobacco met his nose.  
"Cronus…?" He muttered, dread creeping into his stomach like an icy tendril. He moved his hand down a bit further and when he brought his fingers closer to his face for inspection, he found that they were covered in blood. This time Karkat really did gag, and it was by sheer dumb luck that he managed to not throw up. Shakily, he got to his feet and continued deeper into the belly of the beast. If Cronus was on this condition, then Heaven knows what Kankri looked like. Moving faster now, Karkat made his way into the living room. Immediately, a low groan, though not as low as how Cronus had sounded, reached his ears and Karkat practically ran towards it.  
"Kankri?" He questioned meakly at the sight of his brothers crumpled form. "Are you okay?" He reached out and shook his brother slightly. It was hard to tell in the dark, but he was pretty sure that Kankri was bleeding as well. "Please at least be alive."  
Kankri moaned again and his head moved from side to side ever so slightly, as if he was afraid to move it.  
"Karkat?" Kankri asked in a hoarse voice, reaching up as if to touch him, though he was gripping something quite tightly in his hand, so the motion was pointless. "Is that you?" He sounded scared and alone and so… _un-Kankri_ that Karkat didn't even care when he felt tears working their way down his cheeks.  
"Y-Yeah, it's me Kan." He sobbed, placing a hand on Kankri's cheek to steady him once it became clear that his eyes weren't focusing properly.  
"Karkat…" Kankri muttered, waving his arm around in the air slightly. It was then that Karkat realized what Kankri was holding in his hand. It was his phone. Nervously, he reached out and pried the small object out of Kankri's hand. Thankfully, he didn't struggle, practically thrusting the phone into Karkat's hands.  
For some reason, the phone was wet. With a face of slight disgust, Karkat wiped it off on his shirt before turning it on. He squinted at the sudden brightness of the screen and had to force his heart to stop beating so loudly when he realized that the phone had been wet because it was sticky with blood. Which he had just wiped on his shirt. Gross. Swallowing his pride, Karkat began clicking through apps, trying to find whatever Kankri had wanted him to see. There was nothing new on his Trollian, several blogs, or personal notes. Which only left one thing. Working around the cracks in the phone screen, Karkat clicked on the texting app and pulled up his name. There was one unsent message. Steadying himself, Karkat clicked on it, mouthing the words as he read it.  
He read it once.  
Twice.  
Three times.  
And then, with a gasp, he flung it across the room, not even caring as the sounds of glass shattering reached his ears. He was hyperventilating now, but he didn't care. Kankri's message had only been one word, but it was enough to set his nerves on high alert and to put all his senses on overdrive. He had to get out. _Now_.  
"Karkat." Kankri croaked, slightly more alert than he had been a minute ago, but just as terrified. "_Run_. Don't look back."  
Kankri's unsent message flashed in his mind again.

_Spades Slick_

That was all it said, but the message was clear. The man who had been their step-father and raped and abused Karkat behind closed doors was back with a vengeance. Karkat took a step backwards.  
But it was too late.  
There was a loud click, as if someone just turned of the safety on a gun, which, coincidently, someone did. "Don't fuckin' move, kid." Someone growled from behind him. Immediately, Karkat froze. He had heard that voice before. But it was impossible, he was supposed to be in jail. Karkat still didn't quite believe it. "I know what you're thinkin' slut." Spades continued, "But don't worry. Everything will make sense when you wake up." And with that, he raised his gun up and brought it crashing down on Karkat's skull. The blow wasn't hard enough to do any permanent damage, but it was going to hurt for a least a week and leave behind a nasty bump. But the blow was familiar. Spades has used it on him to many times for him to count.  
It's funny though, the last thing he saw before blacking out was Sollux's face, swimming at the edge of his thoughts. "Sollux…" he muttered into the carpet.  
And then he was gone.

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**And boom! After over a month, you get a really shitty cliffhanger! Congratulations, readers! Anyway, I will probably (but most likely not) have the next chapter uploaded within a few weeks, depending on how lazy I am.**


	5. In Which The Ending Is Finally Posted

**Would you look at that. An update. Possibly the last one for this story. Now I can move on to bigger and hopefully better ideas! Which reminds me…  
CHECK OUT MY OTHER STORIES!  
*****coughs awkwardly*  
****ANYWAY, I bet you're all relieved that this is over. So, without further ado, here is chapter five!  
****QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT HERE: For future reference, if you people want to be notified when a story updates, you have to FOLLOW it. FAVORITES DO NOTHING BUT BOOST MY EGO.**

**I apologize for any and all OOC-ness in this chapter.**

* * *

**Karkat's P.O.V., Three Years Ago**

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**TW: If you are offended by child abuse/molestation, please skip this section so I don't have to deal with your offended comments.**

Karkat, a little seventh grader at the time, watched uninterested as his mother's car disappeared on the horizon. He had known that she would leave any day for quite some time now, so when it actually happened, he didn't feel particularly emotional. In a weird way, he was kind of glad she was gone. At least now some of the tension in the house would disappear. On the down side...

"Hey, brat." His step-father of three months, Spades Slick, called from the front door. "Get your ass back inside. She's gone, halle-fuckin-lujah. Quit you're whining and come 'er."

Obediently and without a word in protest, Karkat walked up the steps. Spades was already gone, probably looking for another beer, so Karkat went ahead and shut the door behind him.

Kankri was out, probably volunteering at another homeless shelter. Honestly, his brother was the fucking poster boy for 'perfect', and Karkat's teachers, along with everyone else he knew, never failed to remind him of that. He hated being compared to Kankri almost as much as he actually hated Kankri. It was a vicious never-ending cycle.

Karkat sighed and took a seat on the couch that they should have replaced years ago. It was old and had springs sticking out in some spots. But it still functioned as a couch, so they kept it. Just as Karkat reached for the T.V. remote, it was swiped out of his reach by Spades.

"Um, I was going to use that." Karkat said with annoyance lacing his words.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Spades said with heavy sarcasm. "Let me show you how much I care." And then he chucked the remote right at Karkat's head. Luckily, the youngest Vantas was incredibly fast and he ducked just in time to avoid taking a hunk of plastic to the eye. Unfortunately, it still hit him in the center of the forehead.

"Ow, what the fuck, you deranged sociopath?" Karkat shouted, pressing a hand to the sore spot protectively.

This statement earned him a slap across the face from Spades, who had a look of twisted glee on his face. "Don't insult me, you ungrateful brat!" He screamed back, though his expression was anything but upset.

"Why the fuck not?" Karkat challenged, standing up to face his step-father.

And that was when it happened. In a motion so quick that Karkat didn't see it until it was too late, Spades reached out, wrapped his hand around Karkat's neck, and just _squeezed_. His body pulsing with sudden adrenaline and fear and desperation, Karkat reached up, clawing desperately at his hands. His throat burned and his eyes stung with unshed tears. Everything hurt and he could tell by the look on his face that Spades was enjoying this. Black was creeping up the edges of his vision and so, in a sudden thoughtless act, Karkat swung his leg back and kicked Spades hard in the balls.

He would regret the action later, but at least it worked, if only for a moment. Spades let go and clutched his crotch protectively, causing Karkat to fall back and land on the couch. He took a deep breath of oh-so-wonderful air and began coughing loudly, pounding on his chest to make his lungs work again.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that, ya lil' shit…" Spades muttered, straightening back up as the pain slowly ebbed away. Karkat opened his mouth to retort, but before he could even think of a come back, something was pressed against his mouth, keeping him silent. It took him a second, but it soon became clear to Karkat that Spades was _kissing him_.

He tried to pull back, horrified, but his plan was inevitably foiled by the back on the couch and Spades determination. Finally, he pulled away, leaving Karkat with a nasty taste in his mouth. He reached up, wiping furiously at his mouth, but stopped when he felt something… sticky.

He brought his hand down to inspect it and was surprised to find blood coating his fingers. Spades… had bit him? And drawn blood. Without him even feeling it!

Slowly, Karkat looked up at his step-father. Never before had he been so terrified of another living person. And Spades knew it, too.

"What's wrong?" He taunted, leaving in closer. Karkat could smell the alcohol and tobacco coating his breath as he struggled to not throw up. "Ya look like you've seen a ghost."

Karkat turned his head away, trying to formulate a plan over the sound of that awful pounding in his chest. Spades didn't like that however, and grabbed his chin, forcing eye contact. "Listen 'er, brat." He started, spitting as he spoke. "From now on, you're _my_ bitch. I _own_ you, understand?" He demanded.

Dumbfounded, Karkat just nodded, and unknowingly sealed his fate for the next few years.

He didn't want to be there, pinned to the couch, facing the first of several violations he would receive. Karkat wanted _out_. Unfortunately, he couldn't. This was fate and it had to happen. So his brain simply settled for the next best thing. He woke up.

* * *

**Sollux's P.O.V., Friday, 7: 13 pm**

* * *

Somewhat more calmed down than he had been a moment ago, Sollux turned a corner, visibly relaxing as Karkat's house came into view. He turned his headlights off, not wanting anyone to his presence. Normally, he wouldn't care if they knew he was coming, but something in his gut said that it was best to remain inconspicuous for as long as possible.

**(This is a blatant reference to his Mage of Doom abilities, FYI.)**

As quietly as he could, Sollux pulled to a stop by the curb before getting out and locking his car. It was his baby, and stealth could be sacrificed for a second to make sure that it wouldn't get stolen. Nonchalantly, Sollux made his way up the walkway towards the house. For some reason, the lights on the outside were off, which was a strange for Kankri to do, but he shrugged it off. Weirder things have happened. Like Kankri ever thinking that he was celibate. What a riot!

Sollux chuckled at the thought, but quickly grew serious as he approached the front door. For some reason, it was wide open, as if someone had entered and not cared enough to shut it afterwards.

Slowing his stride uneasily, Sollux spent a moment inspecting the door, eventually judging that the only thing wrong was that it was open, before moving into the foyer. He felt a strong urge to shout out for Karkat, but bat it away immediately. This was a mission of stealth, not carelessness.

Keeping this in mind, he worked his way through the house with finesse, on edge but not yet scared. Well, at least he wasn't until he stumbled upon Cronus.

Like Karkat before him, Sollux stumbled upon the first victim quite literally. Unlike Karkat however, he didn't manage to stay upright and tumbled over Cronus dead weight, landing on the ground with a thump and missing the coffee table on his fall by mere inches and sheer dumb luck.

"Woah, that was close…" he muttered, getting back onto his feet in a single motion. He leaned over Cronus' fallen form and began inspecting the injuries with practiced hands. For the first time, he was glad that his mom enrolled him in that summer school for future nurses. Maybe those lessons hadn't been so pointless after his admittedly limited expertise and Google, Sollux judged that Cronus was in no immediate danger of dying, just a lot of pain. He had a broken nose, possibly a few cracked ribs, and a bullet wound in his shoulder. Luckily, the bullet had passed through cleanly and missed anything that was important, so Cronus would be find. Sollux paused, considering his options, before removing his jacket and wrapping it tightly around the wound. Cronus groaned in discomfort but otherwise didn't respond to Sollux's poking and prodding.

With that out of the way, Sollux continued his journey, _Mission Impossible_ style. A lot more worried now, he enters the living room, trying not to think about what might what have happened to Karkat.

Just as the idea crossed his mind, Sollux came across Kankri, who appeared to be unconscious. His eyes were closed and his face was moist with a light sheen of sweat. Not good.

Sollux reached out a hand to inspect the source of the blood coating Kankri's sweater, but was stopped when a hand wrapped around his wrist. He only stopped himself from screaming by biting his lip, tasting blood immediately but not caring enough to let up.

"Sollux?" A weak voice called. It sounded unfamiliar to him, but then Sollux realized that it was Kankri who had spoken and he relaxed somewhat.

"Yeah, it'th me." he hissed, giving Kankri a quicker version of what he did to Cronus as the Vantas continued talking. Seriously. Even when he was dying, Kankri just kept talking.

"Sollux, you have to…" he paused to breath, "...stop him. They went…" Pause "...upstairs. earlier." Pause. "Please, call 911. Run." Sollux didn't respond, to overcome with his racing thoughts to really notice when Kankri passed out. He was just relieved when the form under him stopped moving around so much. Kankri's injuries weren't any worse than Cronus', though they were in significantly more serious spots. He should probably call 911 like Kankri suggested. Pulling out his phone, Sollux placed a hand on the coffee table to steady himself as he stood. He paused though, when he felt the telltale feeling of paper rub against his palm. It wasn't like Kankri to just leave stuff out, especially paper somethings, so it automatically peeked his interest. Using the dim light of his phone, Sollux clarified that the paper was actually a recent newspaper from just this morning. The weird thing was, it was a newspaper from Utah that shouldn't have even been out here. Normally, he wouldn't bother with such a thing, but the newspaper was open to a full page article that had been circled in red pen and some words had even been carefully highlighted. Curious, Sollux began to read.

**UTAH STATE NEWS**  
**One Adult Man Escapes From Maximum Security Prison**  
**February 9, 2015 | PENELOPE MATTHEWS, HEAD WRITER**  
**One man escaped from Central Max Security Prison in Mesa City, Utah late at night on Monday. Spades Slick, the escapee in question, was sentenced to a life-time in prison for the repeated rape and abuse of his stepson, who wished to remain anonymous. Reportedly, he escaped after overpowering the three guards stationed outside his cell by using a firearm that was apparently smuggled in using a pumpkin, officials said. Slick, a 42 year old adult male, remains at large as of Thursday evening, and was last seen heading North. He is described as being a short, dark haired man with dark skin and aggressive behavior. Authorities urge anyone who sees this man to call 911 and report it immediately.**

By the time he finished reading, Sollux had chills running up and down his spin. Something about this article rubbed him the wrong way, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly. But now was not the time for deep-thinking. Honestly, he was disgusted that he had actually stopped to read the article in the first place. God, he was an idiot. Karkat was right upstairs though, so he still had a chance to redeem himself. Keeping this in mind, Sollux placed the paper down and eased towards the stairs. As a last minute decision, he grabbed the only umbrella these two seemed to own and swung it over his shoulder like a baseball bat. It wasn't a gun or anything, but it would work. And if not, he could... resort to extremes as a last minute option, but he would really prefer to not do that.

Moving up the stairs cautiously, Sollux strained to hear of anything was being said upstairs. Nothing. That was both reassuring and worrying.

Still, standing around like an idiot wasn't going to make them talk, so Sollux began moving, not making a sound the whole way up. All the lights were off up here too, but there was the telltale white light of a flashlight coming from under Karkat's bedroom door. That's where he would find the perpetrator and his boyfriend (that felt so good to think).

Sollux approached the door and set his hand on the knob, twisting it in a way that made little to no sound. The door swung open soundlessly and Sollux squinted to see in the dim lighting. It was difficult, but his eyes quickly adjusted and he managed to make out a figure tucked into the far corner. Briefly, he looked around, trying to find the source of the light. He almost gave up, but then he noticed the little movements coming from the light sources and realized that is was just a bunch of candles. Which was kind of creepy. How somebody managed that in only a few minutes was a mystery, but it could be answered later. Sollux had bigger fish to fry.

He moved deeper into the room and shut the door behind him, not wanting anyone to see the light source. As a second thought, he sent the umbrella against the door so he wouldn't have to carry it. "Karkat?" He asked quietly, moving closer. "Ith that you?" The figure didn't move, just groaned, and Sollux figured that it was okay for him to continue moving. "Karkat, if that'th you, I need an anthwer." That comment seemed to stir some sort of reaction from the form that was most likely Karkat.

"Uh, Sollux?" He whispered in a rough voice, one hand reaching up to clutch the back of his head. "What are you doing here?" Sollux almost wept with relief. Never before had he been so happy to piss off Karkat. Honestly, he could have kissed him at that moment.  
But he didn't. Instead, he began inspecting Karkat for injuries. After all, some things are more important than his 'raging teenage hormones'. "That'th not important." he says, satisfied that the only wound appears to be a rather nasty bump on the back of Karkat's head. "What ith important ith that we get you out of here and alert the copth." He used a single hand to help Karkat straighten up into a sitting position and the other to balance himself against the nightstand. "Altho, Kankri and Cronuth are alive, but we better get them fixed up thoon." He instructs. Sollux goes to pull Karkat into a standing position, but is surprised to find that his boyfriend resisting him. He looks back at Karkat, bewildered. "KK, what are you doing?" He asks.

"Sollux, just forget about me, alright? Get out of here now and call the cops. Seriously, you should have done that in the first place. What the fuck were you thinking, coming in here alone?" Karkat says, clearly wanting to continue but deciding that it's best not to, shutting his trap when he realizes he was ranting. But despite his taunting words, Sollux could sense something in his voice that he had never heard Karkat use. It was confusing, until he realized that the problem was that Karkat was using a _pleading _tone. Like he was absolutely desperate for Sollux to have been gone five minutes ago.

Sollux stopped struggling to move Karkat and really looked at him. His face appeared to be drained of blood, unusually pale under the strange lighting and his eyes couldn't stay focused, they were blood-shot and darting around frantically for any excuse to run. His very _existence_ was on edge, but Sollux just couldn't figure out _why_.

"Karkat, what'th wrong?" He bent down as he spoke to make eye-contact. At such a close proximity, Karkat was forced to look at Sollux eye-to-eye, and it was obviously putting a bizarre sort of strain on him to do so. "What'th got you tho thcared?"

Karkat hesitates but opens his mouth to respond anyway. Only, instead of his voice, Sollux hears the voice of someone he's never met. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" Someone said from the other side of the room. Sollux swung around to get a good look at the newcomer, but he didn't let go of Karkat's arm. As such, it was pretty easy to tell that he froze at the sound of the voice and immediately began shivering in fear afterwards. Without looking back, Sollux wrapped his arms around Karkat and squeezed slightly, trying to calm him down. "Aw, that's so cute." The stranger cooed, his voice laced with sarcasm and false sweetness. "Little Karkar _finally _found someone who _actually_ likes him! How precious..." He taunted, sarcastic surprise filling his words.

Wordlessly, Sollux began assessing the newcomer. He was pretty short for an adult, probably only an inch taller than Sollux himself, though his face held the wrinkles of someone who had lived a long time and smoked for just as long. In fact, Sollux could smell the tobacco seeping of the man's closes even from this distance, and it wasn't hard to spot his yellowed teeth with the grin he was wearing. Aside from that, he was wrapped in a large black trench coat which, though bigger than him, looked oddly fitting on his stature. He even had a black fedora perched on top of his head, which was tilted down so that his eyes were hidden. For some reason, Sollux had a hard time making out any distinguishing characteristics on the man, as if he was made out of shadows and void. It was a weird effect, overall.

Sollux wasn't going to let his black demeanor intimidate him however, and he growled in response, seeing as how Karkat was pretty much out of commission for the moment.

"Fuck off." He spat, not liking this mysterious new person in the least. Clearly, Karkat didn't like him and to Sollux, that was more than enough evidence to distrust this stranger.

"Oh, and it looks like this 'friend' has a mouth on him." He continued, not seeming put off in the least. As a matter of fact, he almost looked… happy. That wasn't good. "Kitkat there used to be the same way. That is, until I beat it out of him. After that, he was just _perfect_." Maybe it was the way Karkat gripped him tighter as the words continued, maybe it was the way the word 'perfect' sounded so wrong coming from _him_, or maybe it was just the way that this man stared at Karkat, like a starving man looks at a hunk of meat, but no matter what the reason, Sollux finally put the pieces together.

"Holy fucking thit." he breathed, staring at Spades Slick with wide, horrified eyes. "You're… hith step-dad, aren't you?" He asked, holding Karkat tighter as Spades moved closer.

"Of course I am! Actually, it's disappointing that you didn't figure it out sooner, Sollux!" Spades laughed, not seeming to have noticed that he just used the kids actual name.

However, Sollux most definitely noticed, his blood running cold. "How do you know my name?" he demanded shakily, momentarily forgetting about the Karkat curled up on his lap.

Spades just laughed harder, bending over slightly to help deal with the supposed hilarity of this event. "Boy, I knew you were here the second you step out of your car." He said finally, wiping away a tear as he straightened back up. "I'm not a newcomer to crime. You didn't do a single damn thing in this house that I wasn't aware of." He gestures at Karkat for this next part. "Besides, as I was eavesdropping, shorty over there provided me with plenty of information."

Sollux said nothing, still trying to wrap his mind around the horrors and humiliations Karkat must have experienced at this man's hand over the years they lived together. Spade's seemed to pick up on this train of thought and smiled broadly, an idea forming in his twisted brain.

"I can see you're having a hard time understanding exactly what living with me entails." Spades continued, walking from side to side in a three step pattern. "So, because I'm such a nice guy, I figured I could just show you..." He trailed off and, before Sollux could react or even fathom what was about to happen, he darted over and grabbed Karkat tightly by the hair and pulled him out of Sollux's grasp, much to the displeasure of Karkat, who screamed at the unexpected strain on his scalp. Spades just grinned, pulling harder and relishing in the pain he was causing the young boy. Sollux froze for a moment, caught off guard and hesitant to move closer, less Spades hurt Karkat further as retaliation.

Speaking of the younger Vantas, surprisingly enough he did not fight Spades grip any further then putting his own hands on his head to help lessen the strain. It was… off-putting to say the least. The hot-tempered Cancer was just… kinda kneeling there, refusing to make eye-contact with Spades and instead staring imprints into the floor. Sollux blinked, confused with his strangely passive behavior. It was almost as if he didn't see a _reason _to struggle.

Spades seemed to sense this too, which only furthered the creepiness of his toothy grin. "Aw, what's wrong kid? Scared to fight me?" He shook Karkat for emphasis, but received no response. "Well, I'm glad that _some _of the stuff I taught you stayed in that dense head of yours." His words were pleased, perhaps even praising, but his tone held mockery and slight anger. "_However_, you did break one of the rules." His eyes darted over to Sollux for a brief moment of stray thought and, had it been physically possible for him to smile even wider, Sollux was certain that he would have. "Would you care to tell me what you did wrong, kid? Or better yet…" He swung Karkat around so that he was facing Sollux, both of them dumbfounded. "why don't _you _tell _him_? Remember pretty boy, _exact words_."

Spades reached down, fingering on of his pockets in what Sollux assumed was a nervous habit. Karkat however, seemed to have other ideas as he tensed and took a shaky breath. But before he could speak, Spades reached into the pocket he had been fiddling with and brought out a long, sharp-enough-to-cut-metal knife. It was shiny too, reflecting the light as Spades inspected it. Clearly, this was a weapon he prized.

"Rule one is…"KarKat hesitated, though Spades didn't seem to mind. It was pretty clear that Karkat was going to continue anyway. "Rule one is, the… bitch in question isn't allowed to interact with anyone except the people approved by their master..." Clearly, Karkat had not wanted to say that, as his voice was so quiet towards the end that Sollux didn't catch the last few words. But he got the basic gist.

"That's right, kid. Glad to see you remember!" He cooed with sarcasm lacing his words. Sollux ignored him however, focusing on something much more important. He took one look at the painful expression on Karkat's face and the way he was trying not to cry and decided that enough was _enough_. Sollux's hands curled into fists as he climbed to his feet, much to the amusement of Spades, who didn't seem worried by teenager's actions and even went as far as to sheath his knife.

"You fucking bathtard." Sollux muttered, shaking from the effort it took to suppress his rage. He had never been a patient person, especially when someone was hurting the people he cared about, and today was no exception. He wanted Spades _dead_. It was pretty clear that no prison could hold him, so why not eliminate the problem at it's source? He could hear the little voice in the back of his mind, the one that encourages all the bad choices you make in life, telling him to do it. _'No one will care,'_ it whispered, _'and besides, it's for Karkat. What will happen if you don't?'  
_

And even though Sollux didn't want to listen, he found himself agreeing. After all, it would be so easy. He could choke him, or run him through with the umbrella, or even his own precious knife. But then he found himself looking at Karkat. He looked so... scared. And yet, no matter how hard he tried, Sollux couldn't find a single trace of hate in his wide, dark brown eyes. That made him hesitate. Why was it that Karkat didn't hate this man? It was confusing to be sure, but it gave Sollux a refreshing dose of humanity as he took a deep breath. He was still pissed, there was no changing that so late in the game, but he had shut up the voice in the back of his head and had better control over his emotions.

"What's wrong, little man?" Spades taunted, dropping Karkat to the ground, knowing that his stepson wouldn't move. "You suddenly scared to take me on? Afraid I'll hurt you?"

Sollux raised his head, making eye contact with the older man. Almost instantaneously, Spades' grin dropped. There was something in Sollux's eyes that made him come back to reality. It sobered his mind in a way that he hadn't felt since his run in with that cop back in the day, Sn**o**wman. To put it plainly, the look _scared _him. And that was terrifying enough. Sollux, seeing the sudden flash of fear in Spades' eyes, grinned, mentally thanking God that Karkat appeared to be napping. Either that, or he was playing dead. Probably the second one. Sollux, unknow to Spades, had the upperhand in this fight. In fact, he mentally made a note to make this the most anti-climactic battle in history.

Spades didn't seem to pick up on this train of thought and he reached to his belt, unsheathing the knife and aiming it threateningly at Sollux, who had to admit that this guy knew a thing or two about knifes. His skill was impressive, and the fight hadn't even begun yet.

Before Sollux could blink however, Spades was in front of him, slashing expertly with his knife. Caught off guard by the attack, Sollux jerked back, earning himself a long, but shallow, cut from the tip of his ear to his chin. He hissed in pain, but resisted the urge to slap a hand over the wound. It would just throw off his coordination, and he would need it to take down Spades. The man was even better than Sollux had expected and he cursed himself for underestimating his opponent.

Not wanting to give Spades another opening, Sollux spun out of his reach and visibly relaxed as his hand wrapped around the base of the umbrella and he brought it up like a sword, barely managing blocking Spades' next attack. The man in question growled lowly, not even seeming to notice the squealing sound of metal on metal, which made Sollux wince.

Quickly growing impatient, Spades made short work of the umbrella, shredding it to bits and reducing the once solid fabric to nothing but scraps. Sollux held the umbrella up, dumbfounded. Spades couldn't help but smirk on the expression on his face, diving in for another attack.

Coming back down to Earth, Sollux jumped back again, luckily avoiding the full blow of the weapon but getting a long cut from his chest down to just above his jeans. Again, it wasn't very deep, and Sollux was struck by the thought that either Spades was just bad at this or, for some reason, he wanted both of them alive. It was probably the second one, because Spades was most definitely not bad at this. An outsider might have thought that Sollux was holding his ground, but there was a noticeable tiredness in his motions, and the numerous cuts and bruises along his body told the rest.

Muttering some curse words under his breath that are best left to the imagination, Sollux stabbed forward with the umbrella, managing to catch Spades in the hand with the tip of the makeshift weapon. Luckily, the hand he hit happened to be the hand Spades was using to grip the knife. Gasping slightly in pain, Spades released the weapon, sending it to the ground with a loud clatter. Allowing himself a small victory smirk, Sollux didn't notice when Spades, a new yet less sharp knife in hand, charged at him. This time, instead of going for a large slash, he pulled his arm back to stab Sollux in the chest, and the boy in question didn't even have time to react before he felt the knife make contact and a white hot pain surged through his entire body. It was so surprising, so new to his nerve endings, that he didn't even have the energy to scream. His body was too busy trying to absorb the shock of the knife.

Spades straighten up, dusting his hands together like there was dust on them. He didn't even bother removing the knife, he just left it in Sollux's chest, who was now gasping for air. "Oh please." Spades rolled his eyes. "It's just a flesh wound, ya pansy! I didn't even hit nothin' important!"

Sollux just groaned, clutching the area where the knife as buried, too weak to pull it out with his hands.

Karkat, who had been motionless until now, stared in shock, crawling over to where Sollux was bleeding against the wall. "Sol-" he tried, but before he could finish, Spades picked up his foot, which was adorned with his special heavy compact boots for this occasion, and dropped it onto Karkat's back. He smirked in satisfaction as his victim groaned, hitting the floor face first as his arms gave out. Spades laughed and removed his foot before turning and walking towards the center of the room.

Sollux paid him no mind as he reached for Karkat's outstretched hand. "Hey, KK." He said weakly with a watery smile. "Thith ith thome predicament, huh?"

This earned him a low chuckle from Karkat, who propped his chin up on the carpet and smiled. "Yeah. Sorry I got you into this, Captor." He apologized, hoping that the use of Sollux's last name would hide the emotion in his voice.

It didn't work, and Sollux smiled. "No problem, Vantath. You know I love you." He was surprised that those words actually came out and was even more surprised to find that he really didn't mind. It felt right to finally get the feeling off his chest.

Karkat seemed to agree, as he instantly flushed at the statement, making it incredibly difficult to make out his regular skin tone. Nonetheless, he opened his mouth to respond, and hopefully say it back, but before he had the chance, Spades approached them. He didn't say anything, but his presence alone was enough to shut Karkat up.

"C'mon kid, I don't have all day." He says, and grabs Karkat's arm, hoisting him up into a standing position with minimal effort.

He turns towards Sollux, a scowl etched on his features as he takes in the drying blood. If Spades was telling the truth and he really didn't hit anything important, then it made sense that the wound would clot quickly, much to the displeasure of 'whoever' stabbed him in the first place. "So Captor, I bet you're wonderin' why you're still alive." Spades began, pacing around a terrified Karkat. Sollux didn't respond, just glared, but Spades seemed to take that as a 'yes' anyway. "Ya see, I've been locked up for a while, and during that time, I was really bored. So, I figured that before I eventually kill both of you, I should have some fun." He grins widely at this, and Sollux shivers at the sight. "First things first, I want to see the marks I left on you, Vantas." Spades continues, crouching next to Karkat. The younger boy flinched away from his touch, looking as if those words physically pained him.

Sollux raised an eyebrow. "What ith he talking about, KK?" He asks. For some reason though, Karkat didn't respond, he just averted his eyes, leaving Sollux even more confused. "...KK?"

Spades laughed, twirling a knife that had suddenly appeared in between his fingers. "You mean he never told you?" He taunted, making it apparent that this was something Sollux should care deeply about. And suddenly, he did.

"Karkat, what are you not telling me?" He questioned, looking at his boyfriend, who still refused to look back.

Smirking, Spades, using the hand that wasn't twirling a knife dangerously, grabbed the back of Karkat's shirt and, this time using the knife, cut down the middle of the fabric. Sollux winced at the unpleasant sound of seams ripping, wondering where this whole thing was going.

As if answering his unasked question, Spades tore what was pretty much just a bunch of cotton away from Karkat's body, tossing it aside. "We won't be needin' that." He muttered, turning the dark haired boy around so that his chest was on full display.

With the darkness at the edges of his vision slowly fading to the darkness of the room, Sollux figured that if he was gonna die, he might as well go while looking at his boyfriend's chest.

It was weird though because, in the low lighting, it almost looked as if there were lines criss-crossing Karkat's skin.

With a jolt that sent another flash of pain through his body, Sollux realized that those lines were _scars_.

Some were still red, but most had faded to skin color, visible only because the area where the blade had dug was now a dull white. It also made so much sense.

The reasoning behind the long sleeves, the sensitivity in Karkat's arms, why he changed in a stall during P.E.

Spades smirked, "Not so perfect now, is he?" He commented, placing his hands on Karkat's shoulders and moving them down gradually until they were _way too close _to Karkat's waist for Sollux's liking.

Hey, sometimes, he was the possessive type, and sometimes he wasn't. But it looked like today was one of those jealousy days.

He growled. A low and deep sound in his throat, and though he hadn't meant to do it outloud, it was worth the embarrassment for just a moment when he saw the look on Spades' face. But his brief moment of victory was quickly cut short when, quickly realizing what his problem was, Spades grinned, digging his fingers into Karkat's sides until the boy cried out in pain. Sollux snarled, his lips pulling back and revealing the unnaturally pointed teeth that caused his lisp.

The knife in his chest rattled and slipped out slightly, lessening the pain enough to clear his head but increasing his nervousness. Luckily, Spades didn't notice.

He needed to be subtle about this. After all, your enemy shouldn't know you have psychokinesis until it's too late.

* * *

**Karkat's P.O.V., Same time**

* * *

Karkat shook his head, glaring at the ground, as he was afraid to display such disrespect to his 'old master'.

He didn't want to be touched and humiliated like this, the only person he wanted to see his body was Sollux, though he would prefer to graduate high school before anything like that happened. Still, staying alive was, unfortunately, a necessity to the human brain, so he would have to play good for now.

"Actually, now that I'm getting a closer look..." Spades trailed off, squinting at Karkat's form in the low candlelight. "Have you put on weight?" He asked with a grin. "Because if you have, then that means my plan worked great!"

Karkat blinked, staring at his stepfather with questioning eyes. However, it was Sollux who voiced the question they were both thinking. "...what plan?"

Spades straightens, preparing to monologue by the looks of things. "Well, the brat's always been a skinny little thing, pretty weak, not really good at anything physical. So, of course, when I started 'abusing' him, as the police said, it didn't exactly do wonders for his health." He starts walking in small, tight circles, making gestures with his arms when necessary. "Normally, I wouldn't care about something like that, but hey, he has to be alive for me to get what I want. And because of that, I did what any other person would do. I made sure that his obnoxious brother caught me and got myself arrested just long enough for him to actually eat something." Spades crosses his arms triumphantly as he finishes, almost looking as though he expects an applause.

But Karkat can only stare at him in shock. After a few seconds of being slack-jawed, he hears Sollux trying to work something out. "You… are a twithted man." He hears after a pause, and he can't help but smile slightly at this remark.

However, Spades does not find the statement as amusing as Karkat did and he scowls, making his way towards Sollux. Before either boy could formulate a reaction, Spades wraps his hands around the base of the knife still buried in Sollux's chest, and _twists_.

This time, he most definitely screams. Karkat can't do anything but look away, trying to imagine how painful it must be but failing. Despite how long he had lived with Spades, nothing that painful had ever been inflicted on him. Clearly, Sollux wasn't meant to survive this ordeal. Hopefully the neighbors or someone with a phone and common sense heard the scream, otherwise they were fucked. Literally.

Spades grins widely, finishing twisting the knife in a full 360° circle and pulling it out, causing Sollux to scream once more.

Karkat shivered as a drop of blood hits the ground. The knife is completely red by this point, and he can see little pieces of Sollux's once nice shirt hanging from it along with something he _really _hopes isn't skin.

Somehow, through all of that, Sollux managed to remain awake, but just barely. "Are you holding up, Sollux?" Karkat asks hesitantly.

No response.

Spades laughs, actually slapping his knee before sheathing the knife and wiping away a tear out of the corner of his eye with one blood-soaked finger. "Looks as if he doesn't like you so much anymore, huh squirt?" He taunts, not seaming to care that someone probably overheard Sollux screaming. "And I mean, really, who could blame him? With a friend like you, who needs someone to stab them in the chest?" Spades laughs again at his own bad joke, beating down Karkat's already questionable self-esteem in between breaths.

But, for once, Karkat wasn't listening to him.

Moving had made him realize a lot of things about himself, and it had showed him that he was stronger than people gave him credit for. Not physically, but mentally. And the things that he had overestimated when he was younger, Spades, for example, were no longer as scary as they once were. Actually, now that he thought about it, the only reason he was cowering in fear and obeying Spades was because it was a _habit_. Not because he was actually petrified.

And that meant…

With shaky hands, Karkat pushed himself into a sitting position before climbing to his feet. Spades hadn't noticed yet, to busy laughing, but he could feel Sollux drilling holes into the back of his head with the intensity of his gaze.

His hands curled into fists at his sides and Karkat found himself thinking about the future. Now Sollux knew about the marks, and no doubt his other friends will find out eventually and try to 'help' in their own twisted ways, and he was unsure how that would impact their relationship. Karkat jsut wanted everything to go back to normal.

But normal was overrated, it seemed.

So might as well go for the next best thing.

Using all the willpower he had, Karkat opened his eyes and, noticing that Spades was now noticing his sudden standing position, pulled back his fist and swung, nailing the bigger man in the chin. Hard.

Karkat's hand throbbed, but he had left a large, noticeable bruise on the underside of Spades face, so clearly he was the victor in the situation.

So stunned was Spades, that he didn't even notice that the knife he had sheathed only a moment ago was shaking in it's place until it was already flying through the air. Karkat and Spades turned to watch it trail through the air simultaneously as it landed with a clatter on the ground.

Next to Sollux's outstretched hand.

Rather than picking it up as anyone else would have done, Sollux, who had propped himself up against the wall while Karkat was inner-monologuing, raised his hand and the knife began levitating again. Tearing his eyes away from the sight, Karkat settled his focus on Sollux's eyes, which were now glowing in the dim light. Flabbergasted and completely awed, Karkat and Spades watched, mystified, as the knife twirled in the air until it suddenly stilled.

Neither of them saw it coming.

The knife shot forward without warning, so fast that Karkat couldn't track it with his eyes. It was only when he heard someone gasp that he thought to look to his side. Buried so deep in Spades chest that Karkat could hardly see it anymore in the low lighting, was the knife. With an unsteady hand, Spades touched his fingers to the wound and his hand came back sticky with blood. He opened his mouth and blood leaked out the corners, trailing down and soaking his shirt collar. The room was dead silent as Spades legs wobbled and gave out, sending him to the ground face first. He didn't utter a sound. He was dead. Karkat couldn't help but think that it was a bit anti-climactic.

"Sollux?" He asked, looking over at the fallen form of his boyfriend.

He received no response.

After all, people who are unconscious can't speak.

* * *

**Sollux's P.O.V, Twenty minutes later**

* * *

It took them a few minutes, but eventually the paramedics, who had been called by the neighbors after they heard someone screaming in pain, managed to get the three injured people and one incredibly unagreeable teenager out of the house. Kankri and Cronus were laid onto separate cots only to be immediately swamped by doctors. Sollux was no exception, though the doctors quickly agreed that they would need to take him to the hospital for proper treatment and simply clean and bandaged his wound before hooking him up to an IV and moving on.

Careful to avoid the pestering cops, Karkat snuck over to Sollux's cot. "Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked, and Sollux cracked open one eye in acknowledgement before grinning.

"Like thit." It was a lie. He felt worse than shit. More like someone had shoved a white hot iron into his chest and let it sit for hours only to add another one. That was a bit much though. "How about you?"  
Karkat grimaced, looking away. "Not any better. Look, I just wanted to apologize for getting you into the clusterfuck before you ignore me forever, and-"

Sollux cut him off there, raising his hand for the universal signal of 'shut the fuck up'. "What are you talking about, KK? I'm not going to ignore you."

This didn't seem to improve Karkat's mood as much as Sollux had hoped, instead making his frown deeper. "I don't see why you wouldn't. I mean, I got you stabbed for fuck's sake! And besides, I really doubt that you'd want to date someone with scars…" He trails off at this part, and Sollux is struck by the raw pain in his voice.

Time to fix this.

"Karkat, look at me." Sollux says, and he does, but just barely. "Okay, firtht of all, we have a long way to go before we thee each other thirtleth. Thecond of all, I'm not a thallow fucker who would dump you over a thituation you couldn't control. Bethideth, I'm not exactly perfect either. normal people can't move fucking weaponth with their brain."

Karkat smiles slightly at this and looks up. "You promise you'll never leave?"

Sollux smiles back, swallowing the lump in his throat as they both lean in. "I promithe."

They stared at each other for a moment longer before Sollux couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed the back of Karkat's head and pulled him down with no resistance. Their lips connected and, as if by magic, all the tension melted out of Karkat's body, and the smaller boy responded enthusiastically, neither even caring if their teeth clashed or if tongue somehow got involved, or if on of them was currently suffering from a flesh wound. Because it was their moment, their relationship, and a promise of many more imperfect kisses to come.

* * *

**HOORAY FOR SHITTY ENDINGS!  
****Hell, could be professional at this.  
****Anyway, which couple do you guys think I should write about next? DaveKat mindless smut, or DirkJake with a plot and cute ending? Let me know in the comments. I'm also open to more Black Butler (SebaCiel of course) if anyone is into that.**


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